The Search For Something More
by cyke93
Summary: After a devastating injury, NBA star Nathan Scott came back stronger than ever, but his life gets flipped upside down when a woman claims to be pregnant with his child. Naley, AU, Rated M
1. Suddenly Everything Has Changed

The Search for Something More

Summary: After a devastating injury, NBA star Nathan Scott came back stronger than ever, but his life gets flipped upside down when a woman claims to be pregnant with his child. Naley, AU.

Chapter 1 – Suddenly Everything Has Changed

Note: So here is my new story, I don't want to give too much away but this is AU. For the most part, the back story is season 1, I did of course change certain things around and those changes will be apparent once you start reading. I was also inspired from season 7 and season 5 among other things but I did add my own spin to things. I'm really excited for it, this is actually my first new story in a while. I hope I haven't lost my touch and I hope you guys enjoy it and let me know what you think. My car got keyed today and I am so pissed, so sharing your thoughts can help :). Italics are in flashback. Special thanks to Bindy417 and Kelly for their help.

On a side note, we still have no word on season 8 for OTH so please do what you can to let the CW that we want season 8 !!

Enjoy and please review!

. . . .

_"Let's go." Nathan stated as he brushed past Clay and headed straight for the door. Clay looked at him perplexed and a little annoyed. He just ordered his drink._

"_Dude, we just got here." Clay complained._

_Nathan glanced at a sign nearby the indicating a private party at the back room of the bar, reserved for Straus Publishing. "Fine, then you stay." Nathan kept walking._

_Clay sighed and took a big gulp of his drink before placing it back on the bar and running after Nathan. _

"_Wait, Nate.. where you going?"_

"_Anywhere but there." Nathan stated and kept walking. _

_Clay was about to say something else but knew Nathan couldn't be reached when he was in one of his moods. He liked to think he knew Nathan Scott pretty well, that he was more than just his agent but his friend as well. But then there were times like this when Nathan was closed off and had this far away expression in his eyes that made Clay wonder if he even knew him at all. _

"_Fine, so where to?" Clay asked as he caught up with him._

_Nathan walked quickly for another two blocks before stopping in front of another bar. _

"_This'll do." Nathan smirked as he entered the place._

_An hour and 3 bars later . . ._

"_Another round!" Clay yelled over to the bartender. The bartender nodded and started lining the shot glasses and pouring the whiskey. Clay turned around and found Nathan still at his spot on the corner, girls surrounding him._

"_Don't I know you from somewhere?" A young blond woman in a British accent trailed her fingers down Nathan's chest._

"_I don't know, do you?" Nathan raised his eyebrow._

"_You're some sports star aren't you?" _

"_Close Carla." Nathan took a sip of his beer._

"_Kylie." She corrected. _

_Nathan shrugged, like it mattered anyway to him._

"_You play for the Sonics!" Kylie suddenly exclaimed._

"_I didn't know you guys had basketball in the UK?" Nathan replied back, his cover now blown._

"_Of course we know basketball, silly." Kylie's equally drunk friend stated, sitting next to Nathan._

"_Here's our shots!!" Clay announced as he came in with a tray and handed them out to everyone. _

"_Kylie… Nathan.." Clay stated as he passed it out. "Marianne."_

"_Marcy." She clarified._

"_My bad." Clay said innocently and Nathan had to suppress his laughter. They had already forgotten the girls they met at the last bar but they were pretty sure they had their numbers or hotel room keys, somewhere. Clay had to admit the night started out a little rough but it was turning out to be okay._

_A second later, the group took the shots and continued to hang out._

"_What do we have here?" A rather large man with a British accent asked._

_Everyone looked up to find three grown men, arms crossed looking at them. Marcy and Kylie immediately tried to put some distance between themselves and the guys. _

"_You guys are early." Kylie gulped._

"_It seems we came just in time." One of the guys spoke up._

"_I think it's time for your friends to leave." Another one added._

"_Look guys, you want your own table, you gotta get it yourself.. we're a little busy." Nathan stated and turned back to the Kylie._

"_Listen, you yank."_

"_Listen punk!" Nathan stood up. Clay got up as well and immediately held Nathan back. Clay knew that Nathan can hold his own but that wasn't good for his image or career, especially during his contract year. With Nathan's temper on the fritz lately plus the drinking, Clay knew that the situation could quickly escalate and he didn't want anything happening to his best client. _

"_Whoa.. buddy, relax, there. Come on, it's time to go." _

"_Go?" Nathan turned to Clay confused._

"_Yeah, come on. We gotta hit that other place up remember." Clay added and then whispered in his ear. "Besides, I'm getting tired of these chicks."_

_Nathan smirked. "Yeah let's go."_

_Nathan Scott was a flirt, Clay would know a thing or two about that. He himself was one. He also knew that Nathan was only playing with these girls and though he have had the girls fooled, Clay could tell, he was never really interested in either of them. _

"_That's right go!" One of the guys called out._

"_Excuse me!" Nathan turned around but Clay held him back._

"_Nate, let it go. Come on. We're supposed to meet those guys from Nike, remember the shoe guys developing your line."_

_Nathan sighed as he remembered that even on his night off, he truly wasn't off. _

"_You're lucky!" Nathan pointed his finger at them and stormed out with Clay._

_Once outside, both of them were relieved to feel the cool air hit their face. It was a little stuffy inside. _

"_Aite, I'm gonna get us a cab. Stay put." Clay stepped out onto the curb and stuck his hand out._

_Nathan checked his pockets and forgot the bar still had his credit card. Without telling Clay, Nathan went back in. Nathan raced back inside and went to the bar and tried to get the bartender's attention. _

"_I thought we told you to leave."_

_Nathan turned around to find one of the punks standing there._

"_Taxi! Taxi!" Clay yelled out and one stopped in front of him._

_Rolling down the window, "Where to?" The cab driver asked._

"_Lower East Side." Clay replied and opened the door and turned around but found that he was all alone._

"_Nate!" Clay called out and he looked around._

_The next thing he knew, there was the sound of glass shattering and Nathan's body flying through the window._

"_Nathan! Nathan!" Clay yelled as he ran up to Nathan._

"_Ahhh!" Nathan groaned in pain._

"_You okay?" Clay raced to his side, reaching into his pocket to grab his phone._

"_My legs.. I can't feel my legs!"_

6 months later

Nathan grabbed the shopping bag from the passenger seat and got out of the car. He looked around his surroundings, the place reminded him of home, with the trees and the water. It was warm and balmy out, a perfect day for an outdoor party. He stretched for a little bit, something his doctors told him to do in moderation. He wasn't used to the rental he was driving and his back was a little sore but nothing to too bad. Looking out across the expansive yard, he could already see the party in full swing. He made his way to the house, taking his time as he strolled through the grounds.

"There you are!" Clay greeted him and the two pumped fists. "How'd the shoot go?"

"Okay I guess." Nathan replied. "You sure it's cool that we're crashing here?"

"You kidding me, Q's got more rooms than he knows what to do with." Clay replied. "Don't worry, your stuff's already upstairs. Come on, Andre's gonna flip when he sees you."

Nathan followed Clay to the back where he could already smell the barbeque on the grill and the sound of kids running around and people chatting.

"There he is!" Quentin came up to Nathan and the two shared a typical man hug.

"Q, it's been too long." Nathan smiled and padded his back.

"I know man.. and look at you.. still sexy as ever… but not as sexy as me." Quentin quickly replied.

"Don't mind him, retirement is making him senile." Quentin's wife Faith replied, coming up to kiss Nathan on the cheek. "Nathan, it's so good to see you again."

"You too. Thanks for having us." Nathan replied. "So where's that boy of your's?" Nathan turned back to Quentin.

Quentin smiled and looked out over the kids. "Andre!" He yelled and a miniature version of Q came running up to him. Q swept him up in his arms and went over to Nathan.

The little boy's jaw dropped. "You're Nathan Scott!!" Quentin put Andre down.

Nathan smiled and bent down. "And you must be the infamous Andre Fields." Nathan reached into the bag he brought. "This is for you." Nathan pulled out a small jersey with his number and autograph on it. "Happy 5th Birthday little man."

"WOW!!" Andre's eyes lit up. "This is so cool!" He said as he held the jersey up. "Thank you mom.. dad!"

"And?" Faith pointed to Nathan.

"Oh, thank you too Mr. Scott."

"Please.. call me Nathan."

"Thanks Uncle Nathan!"

Nathan chuckled. "That'll do too."

"Can Uncle Nathan play with us?" Andre turned to his dad, who in turn looked at Nathan.

"What do you say Nate?" Q asked.

For the next hour, Nathan was mobbed by kids vying for his attention and for the most part he placated them, even going for a game or two on the basketball court. Quentin and Clay stood on the sidelines as they watched Nathan play with the kids.

"He looks happy." Q commented as he sipped on his beer.

"Today, he is. I know the accident must've taken it's toll on him, add to that his contract year. I know he's been stressed about it." Clay said softly. Q silently agreed.

"He killed it in the last game." Clay added.

"I caught the highlights on Sports Center, 32 points, 8 assists."

"Sometimes, I don't even know how he does it." Clay took a swig of his beer. "Especially for a guy who couldn't walk a couple of months ago."

"I watched the news, the physical therapy, the training.. no one thought he'd back to his old form so soon, let alone play his first game after only three months." Quentin was amazed and impressed. He'd heard horror stories of guys getting injured but none of them were able to bounce back like Nathan had.

"Me either." Clay nodded his head.

. . . . .

"Can I get a picture?"

"Umm.. yeah.. sure" Nathan replied and he bent down a bit. She held the camera in her hand and maneuvered it around so that way they would both be in the picture. Nathan had been here for a few hours now and was enjoying himself. It was a definitely a nice change of pace.

"Umm.. do I know you?" Nathan asked as he surveyed her. She was wearing a blue dress, her hair was brown with blond steaks and she looked like she smoked one too many cigarettes. He would be the first to admit that he's bad with names but he definitely had a feeling like he saw her before.

"Renee," She smiled.

"Yo Nathan!"

Nathan whipped his head to find Quentin approaching him.

"Hey Q." Nathan took the beer from Quentin and turned around but found Renee gone.

"Looking for someone?" Quentin asked.

Nathan shook it off. He was used to the fans by now. "Nah, just thought I saw someone." Nathan took a sip.

"So thanks again for coming down here.. Andre had a blast."

"Thanks for having me." Nathan nodded. "He's a great kid man."

Quentin smiled. "Yeah, he is. He and Faith make it all worth it." Q leaned against the pillar and looked down the patio where his wife was entertaining guests.

"Clay told me about the contract." Q added.

"So he told you the Sonics haven't offered a contract yet?"

"I was wondering why you seemed a little off." Q gave him a small smile. "Don't worry about it man, they'd be fools not to sign you again. I mean I remember how it was like during my contract years, some times it was quick and painless, other times, you're on pins and needles. It's nothing new man. You'll get through it."

"I'm.. I'm hoping you're right. I've worked really hard to get back into form I can't.. I can't lose it now. It's all I got." Nathan looked down.

"Not all." Q pointed out. "But what else is new man, how's that hot girl of yours? Still trotting the globe."

Nathan chuckled. "Her manager Miranda keeps her pretty busy, but she's in Phoenix right now." Nathan said carefully.

"Phoenix?"

"She's gonna see a Chris Keller concert."

"Skinny white dude with the spikey hair and rhinestone shirts?"

"That'd be him." Nathan couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You know I met him before, totally arrogant, talks to himself in the third person.. I .. I don't know what she sees in him, she claims he's a talented artist.. or whatever bs that means."

"Seriously?" Q laughed and Nathan chuckled with him. "You know my wife picked up the latest issue of the Informer.."

"Don't believe everything you read in that crap." Nathan was quick to cut him off. He knew all too well. The media could be your best friend or your worst enemy and living in the spot light for a while now, Nathan knew the importance of treading those waters carefully.

"Don't I know it." Q agreed. "I remember a while back they said that I was shot while at a gas station, my wife nearly had a heart attack.."

"Yeah.. I don't know where they come up with that crap." Nathan threw his hands up and the two looked on at the people around them. Kids running around, the adults eating and chatting. It was a stark different from the fast pace lifestyle he'd become accustomed to.

"You miss it?" Nathan asked a moment of silence later.

"The game?"

Nathan nodded.

"I mean yeah, sometimes. Hard to believe it's been, what 3 years now."

"We lit up my rookie year." Nathan added.

"Almost took it all the way." Q added.

"You should've stayed on for one more season." Nathan smirked, reminding Q that one year after his retirement that the Sonics took it all the way and won the championship. Three years ago, Nathan went into the NBA, surprising everyone since he was only done with his second year in college. A lot of the other guys were intimidating, especially Quentin Fields. But the two bonded quickly and Quentin took Nathan under his wing and during Q's last season. Nathan was like a little brother to him.

"I could've but then that would've meant I would've missed out on all this." Q motioned to his surroundings. "Faith was down here in San Fran while I kept going back and forth between here and Seattle. It was hard man to be away from here, they're everything to me.. the reason I get up every morning .. so yeah, it would've been nice to get another championship ring but I got to watch my son grow up.. walk him to his first day of school, be there for dinner. It's no NBA but it's a good life… a happy one." Quentin said without an ounce of regret.

Nathan was somber then smiled genuinely at Quentin, "Yeah it seems like it." Nathan agreed.

"How about you man? I couldn't even imagine how hard therapy must've been."

"I'm not going to lie, it was hard as hell. Everything hurt and if it wasn't hurting, it was sore. I tell you, there were days I felt like giving up and just staying in bed."

"Why didn't you?"

Nathan paused as he thought about it. "Let's just say I found my reason to get up."

Quentin looked at Nathan curiously and was about to say something else but Andre came running up to him.

"Daddy!"

"Hey little man, what's up?" Q asked as he saw a couple of Andre's friends behind him.

"Can I open my presents now?!" The little boy gave a bright smile.

"Hmm, well we gotta find your mom."

"I'll let her know." Nathan spoke up. "Besides, I need a refill." Nathan held up his empty bottle and started to walk away.

. . . .

"Dude this better be good." Nathan rubbed his eyes as he stepped onto the docks outside Q's house. Andre's birthday party was long over and Nathan was looking for to a decent night's sleep. That was until he got a cryptic message from Clay, telling him to meet him outside.

"This is important." Clay replied.

"Then tell me inside, it's freezing out here." Nathan put his hands back in his pocket. Annoyed, he started to walk back to the house.

"Nate, wait!" Clay stopped Nathan. "I couldn't risk anyone over hearing."

"Over hear what?"

"Look, you remember after the Memphis game, we went to Charlotte?"

Nathan paused, trying to remember "My first game back after my injury?"

"You surprised everyone that night, including me."

Nathan looked at Clay curiously, he had no idea what this had to do with them standing outside in the middle of the night. That game he scored 20 points, 3 assists and managed 6 steals. It was below Nathan's usual game average but no one expected him to perform so well after nearly losing his ability to walk.

"We had that big party after the game… we got pretty wasted."

"Yeah so?"

"That was three months ago." Clay reached out for his cell phone. "Some woman is claiming she slept with you." Clay showed Nathan the image on his phone. Nathan was left speechless as he dropped the phone on the ground.

"She says you know her and that she has pictures of you and her to prove it but she only sent the sonogram." Clay reached down and picked up his phone. "She's..she's three months pregnant, Nate."

. . . . .

The following morning, Nathan and Clay headed out in Nathan's rental car. "Hey, you know I'm not judging you right?" Clay turned to Nathan. Nathan quickly sent Clay an icy glare.

"Clay, you've known me for a long time now, I don't care what that woman says, I did not sleep with her! Alright?" Nathan clenched the steering wheel.

"Alright." Clay threw his hands up in mock surrender.

"It's unbelievable to me that she could just show up and spout a bunch of lies and the next thing I know I know I'm in the headlines!"

Nathan shook his head as he put the car in park.

"Look, I told you I'd handle it. I mean these things happen all the time."

"Clay, this is my contract year." Nathan gritted through his teeth. "The Sonics already think I'm broken goods after my accident."

"They don't think that. Your record since you came back has been phenomenal. The team knows that."

"Then, why haven't they given me a contract yet?" Nathan countered. "I don't need this especially after everything I went through. I went along with your stupid plan Clay I didn't like it but I stuck to it cuz you told me it was going to get me my contract." Nathan gritted through his teeth.

"I know." Clay tried to be sympathetic. "And you've been doing great on and off the court, the plan is working. I told you from the start that these contract negotiations are tricky but we've taken all the necessary steps." Clay replied carefully. Yes, Nathan was doing great back on the court but that didn't mean he was out of the woods. The team had to look at longevity and a hard blow to Nathan's back or a bad fall and that could be it for Nathan. The team needed more than just Nathan's skills to keep him on the roster.

"But this?" Nathan said frustrated, "God, what the hell does she want?"

"Money, Nate." Clay answered quickly. "Like I told you last night, I know how these things go. You got the money, the girl, you're in your contract year coming off an injury and she knows that. She knows very well that this is the last you need right now and she's trying to milk you for it and give you bad publicity."

"Yeah, well, she's doing a good job."

"Look no one knows about this and that's because she's trying to make quick buck."

"Clay, this looks bad no matter what."

"I know that man, but like I said, I'll take care of this lying bitch. I'll find out what she wants, see what we're dealing with and then I'll bring her down."

"You sure?" Nathan said impatiently.

"Yeah, Nate, don't worry I got this. I know you didn't do it and once we expose this gold digger for who she is, this might actually help you, you know get the sympathy vote." Clay reasoned. "Look, just wait here." Clay opened the door and headed inside the restaurant.

Clay strolled through the restaurant, his game face on.

"So, you wanna talk. Talk." Clay took a seat. The woman in front of him was wearing oversized dark sunglasses with a brim hat on. She looked nervous, which made Clay's smirk even wider. It wouldn't take long to expose this money hungry whore.

"What? No hello? No introductions." She bit back. "Where's Nathan?"

"I know you're lying." Clay cut to the chase. "I don't know what your angle is or why you're targeting Nathan Scott but we both know he didn't do it."

"Look, where is he?"

"You're not going near him and you're not getting a red cent out of him. I mean, you can't even tell me your name." Clay was about to laugh.

She was about to open her mouth.

"What do you want from me?" Nathan's voiced boomed from behind her.

Clay's head shot up. "Walk away Nate." Clay tried to say as discretely as he could.

"Huh?" Nathan walked closer.

Clay got up from his seat and positioned himself between the two of him. Clay's eyes urging Nathan to turn around and head out of here.

Taking a deep breath, she took off her glasses and hat. She turned from her seat to faced Nathan.

"Hi Nathan." She said calmly.

Nathan's jaw dropped and stopped dead in his tracks. He felt as if his heart literally stopped, much like how he felt after he was thrown out a window and out of nowhere, she showed up to his hospital room.

_Entering the white drab room, she could hardly believe the sight. She hated hospitals but she pushed passed that and took a step closer. He always towered over her, a pillar of strength and stamina. Now to see Nathan so frail, it was unnerving to say the least. She'd seen him on TV and in magazines but this was the first time she was actually up close to him in so long. It broke her heart to see him this way but it was his fault they weren't together. _'He broke you're heart' _she kept reminding herself but as soon as she found out about the accident two days ago, she couldn't stay away._

_She gently reached for his hand and grazed her thumb over his fingers. Just then his started to move and his eyes fluttered open. The sight of her left him breathless. This was surely a dream or a side affect from the medication. She was too stunned to move, let alone breath. She wasn't expecting him to wake up so soon after his surgery. When his hand squeezed hers, it brought her back to reality and she suddenly stood up and pulled her hand away as if it were on fire._

_"I.. I should go." She mumbled and then turned on her heels and bolted for the door._

_"No! Don't go!" He pleaded, his voice still hoarse. Nathan shouted her name and tried to move to get out of bed but it was no use. Despite what the doctors told him, he still didn't have any feelings to his legs and he lay there, powerless to chase after her. More determined than ever, Nathan Scott was going to change that._

Clay looked at Nathan curiously and the woman behind him and then back to Nathan.

"You .. you know her?" Clay asked softly.

"H.. Haley?" Nathan muttered in disbelief.

To Be Continued.


	2. Quicksand

The Search for Something More

Chapter 2 – Quicksand

You guys are the best! Thank you for all the feedback. They mean a lot to me. I'm glad a lot of you are enjoying the story so far, so please keep them coming! I know last chapter was a lot to take in and I'm sorry if I confused some of you, but I wanted Haley showing up at the end to be the last thing anyone would suspect. Like I said, this story is AU, I borrow from the show and put my own little twist to it. So my best advice is just to keep an open mind and just because I use something from the show, it doesn't mean its going to be an exact copy, I mean where would the fun be in that lol. Obviously, Haley is the mystery girl pregnant and Renee and the other girl at the Chris Keller concert, well keep reading, lol.

This chapter is a little longer than I wanted it to be but I think it works better if I didn't split it up. It'll definitely help answer some questions from last chapter and hopefully clear up some things for people who were confused. Right now I've written up to seven chapters for this story. They are all in draft form and I'll try to be more consistent with updating than in the past. As a reader myself, I hate the long delays. Special thanks to Kelly for her help. Once again _flashbacks _are in italics.

Also, still no word for OTH season 8. Keep giving the show some love and let the CW know we want one more season !

So enjoy this chapter and please review !!!

. . . . .

Clay looked at Nathan curiously and the woman behind him and then back to Nathan.

"You .. you know her?" Clay asked softly.

"H.. Haley?" Nathan muttered in disbelief.

By now, everyone in the restaurant was staring at them. Haley felt like she was in a fishbowl. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. She wanted to meet in public so that way Nathan wouldn't cause a scene because lord knows what happened the last time they were alone. But it seemed that it didn't matter anyway. Haley looked around and saw all the faces looking at them. She couldn't take it anymore and grabbed her things and headed out towards the back entrance.

"Haley wait!" Nathan called out to her. Clay held him back and reluctantly dragged him out of the restaurant.

"Clay let go of me!"

"Nathan, what the hell were you thinking?"

"I need to talk to her."

"No, you're gonna stay right here and tell me what the hell is going on?"

Nathan clenched his fist and took a deep breath. He knew Haley was probably long gone by now. He wished he wasn't so blind sided by all this. _Why didn't she just come to me?_ He wondered. Clay's cell phone started to ring but he ignored it.

"Answer it Clay." Nathan said annoyed, he couldn't stand the ringing.

Clay reached into his pocket and saw the name on the caller ID. "It's Miranda." He muttered. "They're done with the concert by now."

"I can't deal with her right now." Nathan shook his head. He just found out he was going to be a father, to Haley's child no less. He couldn't handle anything else at the moment.

"You're right." Clay clicked the end button to let the call go to voice mail. "But you're going to deal with me, what the hell Nathan? What's going on? Who is she?" Clay rushed out.

Nathan closed his eyes for a second and then looked down on the ground. He didn't want to talk to anyone else right now except Haley but he knew he couldn't keep Clay in the dark. He deserved to know. "Her name's Haley James." Nathan paused and turned to Clay.

"And apparently, she's carrying my child." Nathan took a shakey breath and leaned against his car.

. . . . .

_"You killed it, Nate!" Clay smiled as he poured the shot glasses. " This is to your contract year and for making my job a whole lot easier."_

"_Clay, this was only my first game back and I've got to prepare for our game with Charlotte coming up."_

"_No, no!" Clay shook his head. "I know for a fact that tomorrow you're off.. we didn't get to celebrate last night cuz we had to leave Memphis.. so tonight we're making up for it." Clay slid the shot glass over to Nathan. _

_Nathan sighed, _Fine, _he thought to himself. Lifting the shot glass up, "Cheers!" _

_Luckily the bottle was chilled and didn't burn as much down his throat. He shook his head and his face soured._

"_Excuse me.. but I was wondering if I can get a picture?" A young woman approached them. She wore a pink v-cut top with a group of girls behind her. _

"_Absolutely, just give us one second." Clay smiled and whispered over to Nathan, "Dude, having you around is so much better than a puppy." _

_Nathan shook his head and chuckled. He'd fought tooth and nail over the past three months to get back into his old form, but something was still off and it wasn't just the accident. He'd be lying to himself if he just chalked it up to the accident but really it was more than that. It was _Haley_. It was always Haley. She came back into his life and completely flipped it around much like in high school when she tutored him and didn't take his bullshit. _

_He could still remember that day so vividly, as if it were yesterday. It was the crack of dawn and the sunlight framed her face so perfectly. She was pissed at him for coming in late and a peace offering of coffee and some plastic bracelet wasn't cutting it. When she started rambling about him _being Mr. Nathan Scott, scoring his touch downs,_ he laughed. For crying out loud, he didn't even play football. But God, he missed her. Haley James, he repeated her name in his head. Three months after she stormed out of his hospital room in New York, he still couldn't shake her, but that was nothing new, he'd been trying for years._

_Clay handed him another shot which brought Nathan's thoughts back to the party. Nathan looked around, drinks, shots, girls and music, he used to live for this . He'd drink and party, anything to fill the void in his heart that he thought his basketball career would fill. And now, he was just numb. Basketball, it seemed, was all he had left. _

"_But seriously," Clay raised his shot glass. "I'm proud of you and I love and you absolutely deserve this."_

_The two banged their shot glasses together one more time and took the shot._

"_Oh that'll do it." Nathan wiped his mouth. _

_Grabbing the camera, Clay held it up to the group._

"_Girls, Nathan Scott.. Nathan Scott the girls."_

"_Hi." Nathan smiled trying to be polite and went over to pose with the girls. _

"_Hmm, something smells good." The girl in pink remarked._

"_Must be the rainstorm body spray." Nathan smirked and smiled for the camera. _

"_Alright, let's make it look sexy, on the count of two.. one.. two." Clay took the picture and the group broke off. One of the other girls asked for an autograph, which Nathan obliged._

_Clay handed the camera back to the young woman._

"_Thanks for the shot."_

_Clay replied, "You're welcome.."_

"_Renee." Renee smiled and the two shook hands._

"_How'd you like to take another shot?" Clay motioned to the bar._

_Renee took a quick glance at Nathan and then back at Clay. "__I'd love to.__" She smiled._

_. . . . ._

_The party was in full swing and by this time Nathan would usually be too drunk or tipsy to care but not tonight. Sure, he'd had a couple of drinks and maybe it was hitting him but he still couldn't get into the spirit of things. Nathan headed out back towards the deck and looked out across the night sky. _

_It wasn't lost to him why where he was, or rather how close he was. With no traffic, he could make it to Tree Hill in about an hour. He hadn't been back home since he left for college, since he left _HER. _Ironically, it was because of her that he stayed away but now it was because of her that he was drawn to go back home. Deciding enough was enough, he went back inside and saw Clay talking to a group of guys in suits, most likely other agents or other business wigs. Clay held up his drink and nodded towards Nathan. Nathan held up his drink and plastered a fake smile. Clay had been drinking way more than he had, so he was fairly certain that he could make his move without being caught. _

_Nathan stepped out of the front door and saw one the limos parked there. The driver rolled down his window when he saw Nathan approaching him._

"_Can I help you?"_

"_Yeah." Nathan looked at his name tag. "Mark, how'd you like to make some money?"_

"_Huh?"_

"_I need a driver tonight."_

"_I'm sorry sir, but I got a call, I'm supposed to pick up.."_

_Before he could finish his sentence, Nathan threw a stack of money his way._

"_That's a grand right there, you'll get two more after we're done."_

_The driver looked at the cash for a moment and then got out of the car and opened the door for Nathan. Nathan grinned and stepped inside. The driver closed the door and went back to the front._

"_Look, I got two rules." Nathan spoke up. "One, you don't ask questions, second, you don't tell anyone."_

"_Got it sir, where to?"_

_Nathan smirked, "Ever heard of Tree Hill, North Carolina?"_

_. . . . ._

"_Alright, just pull up to that corner and wait for me." Nathan ordered his driver. Nathan got out of the limo and looked at the familiar streets around him. Not wanting to over do it and show up in a stretch limo, he opted for a more subtle approach on foot. He had the driver park the limo and wait for him a block away. He reached the front steps of Karen's Café and saw it was already closed._

_Nathan looked at his watch and sighed. "Of course it's closed." Nathan mumbled to himself. Scratching his head, he was about to make his way back when a flyer on the window caught his eye. Apparently, Tric was having an open mike night tonight. He raced back to the limo and took the short drive to the club._

_"Wait here." Nathan got out of the car and took a couple of steps but turned back to the limo. Mark rolled down his window._

_"What is it?"_

_Nathan looked the driver, they were about the same build. "Give me your jacket.. oh and that baseball cap." Nathan motioned to the baseball cap on the passenger seat. Mark did as he was asked and Nathan stepped inside Tric, the hat hung low on his brow. The last thing he wanted was for people to recognize him._

_He stepped inside easily and no one seemed to notice him. The place looked different than the last time he was here. The arrangement was different, pool tables were added to the back and the stage looked bigger. The place was busy but it wasn't crammed shoulder to shoulder with people. _

_He found a lonely stool on the bar that gave him a clear view of the stage. _

"_Jack on the rocks." Nathan ordered, his nerves starting to get the best of him. He still wasn't sure he was here, just a hunch that she would be. His gamble paid off as he saw Karen walk up stage._

"_And our next performer.." Karen started to speak and the crowd already started to clap and cheer. Karen laughed. "Oh, I take it you know her?" Karen mused. "Well without further ado, Haley James!" _

_Nathan swallowed the lump in his throat at the sight of her, gorgeous as always. Like every man in the room, he was hypnotized by her. Her hair was darker now, in loose curls flowing down her shoulders. She wore a red buttoned down flannel shirt that hugged her chest and tiny waist and a denim skirt that came down just above her knees and heels that made her legs look like they stretched to eternity. Stunning, beautiful, everything Nathan had always remembered about her. _

_The lights turned low and the music started playing. She grabbed the microphone and started to sing. _

I like to say, I've made good use of my time while you've been away.

And it's true,

I've been in my piano everyday

thinking of you.

They talk around, I hear them whisper, It's the funniest thing really they think you're gone forever

I know the truth, It's just getting hard to believe it.

When they all tell me it's over

even the stars are aligned and I,

I follow the signs so clearly,

and still I've fallen

the quicksand's pulling me down.

I follow the signs so clearly,

and still they catch me

the quicksand's pulling me down.

I'm not the same, I can't sleep nights and now I'm calling your name when I do.

and yet without you, they say I get along better, better, better.

When they all tell me It's over

I'll damn the gods until the stars are aligned and I,

I follow the signs so clearly,

and still I've fallen

the quicksand's pulling me down.

I follow the signs so clearly,

and still they catch me

the quicksand's pulling me down.

Look at my life, look at my face, can't you see my heart bleeding down my sleeve,

you're holding my hand and holding my heart but I just want to feel your breath inside me so I can breath.

Somewhere in the distance I catch a spark of grace I hope it's something that makes me feel like I'm alive.

It's never to soon,

it's never to late,

so I start screaming out

I see your face

I see your hand reaching down and I yell to you and I say,

I follow the signs to clearly,

and still I've fallen

the quicksand's pulling me down.

I follow the signs so clearly,

and still they caught me

the quicksand's pulling me down.

_Nathan watched awe struck. The way she sang, the way her hips swayed to the music, he was enthralled. He used to beg her to sing for him and to see her so free and open, he was so proud of her but he couldn't help but feel a little sad. She finally found her voice and learned to share her incredible talent with the rest of the world. Yet, it was bitter sweet as it was just another reminder of how she didn't need him anymore. But in retrospect, back when they were together, she never needed him, he thought. It was always the other way around with him needing her._

Look at my life, and look at my face,

look where I've come to get to this place with you.

Being here to sit and lay at your feet and rest in your arms

And listen to your heart beat.

_When the music ended, the crowd gave a thunderous applause and rightfully so. She ended up singing three more songs and all the while he sat in a dark corner drinking away. He watched her get off stage as throngs of people came up to her to tell her how great she was and then he saw them. The people who used to be his life, his friends.. his brother. He winced at the sight, not only did he leave her, he left them as well. He watched as Lucas and Haley hug and then join their other friends. They laughed, smiled, they were happy and they certainly didn't need him to ruin their night. Not able to stand the torture any more, Nathan paid the bartender and made his way outside._

_. . . . ._

"_Thank you so much." Haley reached over and paid the driver and stepped out of the taxi. It was a fun night but she was tired and her feet were aching. The liquor was still in her system and walking through her front lawn, up the stairs to her patio took a little longer than usual. Stopping in front of her door, she opened her purse to grab her keys._

"_You were great tonight." A lonely figured stepped out of the shadows. _

_Haley gasped as she dropped her keys. She followed the voice and was shocked to find Nathan in front of her. He wore black pants, a silver dress shirt that emphasized his broad shoulders but trim waist, a black tie hung loosely down his neck. He still looked as handsome as ever with his piercing blue eyes that still managed to shine in the low light. She wondered if maybe she had one too many drinks tonight and her mind was playing tricks on her again._

"_I'm.. I'm sorry I scared you." Nathan said softly, bending down to pick up the keys. When Haley felt the keys back on her hands, she was brought back to reality. She instantly took a step back._

"_What're you doing here?"_

"_I was in the area, I saw you at Tric." He mumbled._

"_You.. you were there?" _

_Nathan nodded._

"_Look, I'm tired Nathan.. good.. good night." She fumbled with the keys to open the front door. In her current condition, this was the last thing she wanted._

_Stepping in front of her and blocking her way inside, "Why'd you see me?" He asked and then quickly added, " In the hospital?" Nathan needed answers._

_Haley sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "I was in town. I heard what happened. I .. I just wanted to see if you were okay. It's wasn't a big deal." She tried to shrug it off._

"_It was to me." Nathan spoke up. "Look Haley, I'm sorry about everything.. I didn't mean to.."_

"_Nathan, just stop!" Haley interrupted. "You don't just get to come here in the middle of the night, scare me half to death and apologize after years of no contact from you.. it .. it doesn't work like that!" Haley shook her head.._

"_Then why'd you see me then. It was a big deal Haley." Nathan countered._

"_It was a mistake." Haley replied back._

"_Call it what you want but it's because of you that I'm standing.. why I'm even walking. When I saw you run out of that hospital room, I just knew I had to get up again.. to stand .. to walk.. anything to."_

::SMACK::

_Haley slapped him hard before he could utter another word. Both of them were surprised by her outburst but Haley had been drinking herself and her emotions were bubbling at the surface._

"_Don't you dare!" Tears were springing from her eyes._

"_Haley." _

"_NO!" Haley exclaimed, her voice cracking. "I was the one to give up everything, I was the one who stood by you and would've followed you but you didn't want me. One minute you were telling me how much you loved me and the next minute you were gone. You're the one that left me, you're the one who ignored me! You're the one that never answered my calls, my texts my emails!" She let years of pent up anger burst at the seam._

"_I made a mistake!" Nathan groaned in frustration. "I was young and stupid and if I could take it back I would!"_

"_Well, you can't, so why don't you just go. It's what you do best." Haley stated with conviction. _

"_If you just let me explain.."_

"_I know enough." Haley said coldly. And she stepped inside the house, slamming the door in front of his face._

"_Haley! Haley!" Nathan knocked through the door but Haley didn't budge. She closed her eyes for a second and tried to reign in her beating heart. If she just pretended the last five minutes didn't happen, then everything would be okay. She went up to her room and quickly changed into a tank top and a comfortable pair of boy shorts. She crashed onto her bed and threw the covers over her, hugging her pillow tight. The room felt like it was spinning and she wondered if it was from the drinks she had tonight or her encounter with Nathan. She wished for sleep to take over anything to get her mind off what just happened._

_She heard rustling from the outside and then the sound of her window opening and the sound of someone slipping in. Haley shook her head, there was only one person in her life that ever climbed the tree outside her window._

"_You could've fallen and broken your back _again_, you know?" Haley sat up from bed and faced Nathan._

"_See you do care." Nathan pointed out with a smile but any attempts at a joke wasn't working and she was definitely not laughing. _

"_I think about it a lot you know, if I had done things differently." Nathan needed to at least let her hear what he wanted to say. "Our lives were pulling us in different directions.. yes I fucked up but there hasn't been a single day that I don't think…"_

"_Oh you're such a saint!" Haley said sarcastically. "Spare me, Nathan. I'm not an idiot." Haley got up. " I've seen the pictures, heard the stories.. the partying the drinking.. it's why you got thrown out of a window wasn't it?" Haley countered. Over the years, she saw his face plastered on various magazines or tv shows but she did her best to ignore them, ignore him but there were times she got weak, like when she decided to visit him in the hospital after his accident. _

"_Yes, I was out drinking but.."_

"_God, the only time you talked to me was like what? A few years ago when you were recruited by the NBA?!" Haley shook her head, "You're precious basketball was nearly taken from you and now all of a sudden you suddenly saw the light and you expect me to just come crawling back to you.."_

"_I didn't say that." Nathan grew more frustrated but couldn't help admire the fire he saw in her eyes, even if her anger was directed at him. Sure Haley was what you called a nerd, tutorgirl, but those people didn't know her like he did, the fire and passion she had was endless. It was one of the things that drew him to her and after all these years it hasn't changed. _

"_You didn't have to." Haley replied. " Yes I came to the stupid hospital room not because I loved you but because I thought it was the right thing to do."_

"_Now that's crap right there!" Nathan countered._

"_What?" Haley couldn't believe what she was hearing._

"_When you say you don't love me.. you and I both know that's bull shit Hales.."_

"_Don't call me that!" Haley groaned in frustration. The way he used her nickname sent Haley aback. How dare he call her that as if they hadn't spoken in years. _

"_Why? Cuz I'm getting under your skin, _Hales." _He smirked and emphasized her name. "It's still there Hales, I feel it .. you wouldn't be so worked up otherwise."_

_Haley could smell the alcohol from his breath as well as the after shave he still used, the scene taking her back to a time when she was the most happiest. _

"_And apparently, you're still drunk. It's in your head Nathan.. now leave!"_

_He walked closer to her and Haley looked up and saw his deep blue eyes cutting down on her. She lost count over how many times she lost herself in those eyes.  
_

"_Make me." He gave his classic Nathan Scott smirk. One that always left Haley weak in the knees. Sure he knew he was pushing her buttons but he couldn't help it. He knew had way more to drink tonight than he should but that didn't matter, all that mattered was that he was once again in her presence. "It's there Hales.. I know it is." Nathan said softly more, not an ounce of cockiness or arrogance in his voice but of hope and faith that he was right. He caressed her cheeks and instantly felt the spark between them. _

"_Nathan.. pl.. please.." Haley mumbled, still looking up at him, wanting to tell him to please go.. leave… anything but she was frozen in her spot. _

_His lips slowly descended onto her's and she would later claim tiredness and a little bit of tipsiness from her part but she didn't move or stop him. She placed her hands on his chest in an effort to push him off of her but it was no use as he deepened the kiss and she found herself snaking her arms around his neck. _

_His kisses left her body feeling hot and on fire. She couldn't stop this even if she tried to. His hand started to roam her body and she could feel his want for her press against her belly. The next thing she knew, she found her hands reaching for the buttons of his shirt and within seconds they were both removing clothes as they made their way to her bed. She laid on the bed while he hovered over her. His lips left hers as he stood up and dropped his pants and boxers on the ground. The sight of ALL of him left her breathless. His body was perfection in every single way._

_Inside, Haley was a mess, with her body telling her one thing while her mind telling her the other. Carefully, he slid her shorts along with her now soaked panties down her legs._

_He kissed her again and despite herself, she found her mouth opening up to him, their tongues battling each other. _This wasn't happening,_ she told herself. She needed to take control and she placed her hands against his bare chest. Trying to push him off her, he still didn't budge and he just deepened the kiss. She moaned into his mouth and her hands, instead of fighting him off, wrapped around his back, pulling him towards her. _

_She was so heated, he was the only one that could ever make her feel like this. She hated how handsome he was, how his muscles were so ripped, how despite everything he's done, she succumbed to his charms like nothing has happened. His lips finally left her's and started trailing down her jaw and on her neck._

"_I don't want this." She moaned out, her own voice betraying her._

"_I'm right here." He whispered into her ear and started to nibble on her ear lobe. "Just say the word and I'll give it to you." He then started to suck on the soft spot on her neck, a spot he knew always worked her up. _

_He sat up, placing himself at her entrance, his erection throbbed, too afraid to touch himself, he felt like he could go at any minute. His eyes found hers and he hesitated for a moment. As much as he wanted this, he knew in his heart that he could never cross that line except if she wanted him to._

'This.. this doesn't mean a thing… Get off me' _Haley tried to form the words but it wouldn't come. Trying to regain some sort of control was dwarfed by the throbbing between her legs. The torture and pleasure of it all was almost unbearable. She raised her legs slightly and parted them. That was all Nathan needed. This wasn't what he planned but he couldn't stop himself. It had been way too long and he dreamed of this for so long, fantasizing it to the point that his arms were sore. He couldn't walk away from this now, not while he was so close. Besides, he was Nathan Scott, NBA star who no one thought could bounce back and Nathan Scott always gets what he wants._

_As gently as he could, he entered her, both of them moaning in pleasure at being connected as one once more. God, she was so tight and warm, Nathan was about to lose it. He leaned down and captured her lips, stifling Haley's cries of pleasure. _

"_God, I missed you." Nathan mumbled against her. _

_She couldn't deal with that now, not with him pounding in and out of her. She would worry about the consequences later, right now all she could do was concentrate on the pleasure not the pain. She kissed him hard silencing him. He held onto her tight as he picked up the pace, thrusting in and out of her._

_Throwing her head back, Haley moaned his name as she tightened her grip around him, her nails digging into his back, her legs wrapping behind his ass. The sensation only spurred Nathan on as he held onto her shoulders and worked both of them so hard and furious that within minutes they were both going over the edge, moaning each other's name._

_. . . . . _

_Nathan woke up, the morning sun hitting his face. It took him a second to remember what had happened and that it wasn't some drunken fantasy. He turned to his side and found Haley sleeping contently. He smiled at the sight and gently brushed his hands against her cheeks. The night starting coming back to him, nothing but a haze of lust and sex. He lost count how many times they'd both gotten off._

_Slowly making his way out of her bed, he surveyed her room. For the most part, it looked like how it did back in high school. He looked at the wall by her desk where various photos were placed. He saw the various ones of her family and then of her friends. It was then he realized that she had taken down all the ones where he was in. As he had done to her, she cut him out of her life as well. He looked at some group photos of her with their friends, Lucas, Brooke, Peyton and the others, some he recognized others he didn't. Some photos were newer, a further reminder of just how long it has been. And then he saw it, the picture of _THEM. Julian, _Nathan muttered to himself. He found out who this punk was and looked on at the various photos of them together or with friends She looked happy, she had a good life, one that didn't involve him or the mess he'd surely bring. He thought about her last night, how she sang her heart out, how happy she looked with her friends. She didn't need him, she didn't need any of it. _

_He looked back at Haley and shook his head. _What have I done?_ In his need to see her, he would just end up hurting her.. again. He felt sick to his stomach. He had used her, cheapened her. She was right all along and all he did was take advantage of her. He heard the slight vibration of his phone and saw some text messages from some of his teammates, from Clay and the agency. He had this whole other life to get back to, one filled with basketball, and training, physical therapy, away games, a life that didn't include Haley, a life that she wouldn't want to be a part of. He never felt so low. Feeling suffocated, he scribbled a quick note on her desk and quietly gathered his clothes and left her house. _

. . . . .

Nathan looked down the corridor and spotted the hotel room, num 2332. He had the agency call every hotel in San Francisco to find out where she was saying. Taking a deep breath, he was about to knock on the door when it suddenly flew open.

"Nathan?" Haley looked at him curiously.

Nathan was about to speak when he looked down and saw the suit case in her hand.

"You're.. you're leaving?"

Haley stepped aside to let him in.

Closing the door, Haley turned back to Nathan.

"What your lapdog isn't with you?"

"Clay, my agent, he doesn't know I'm here."

"Ok." Haley eyed him carefully.

"So you are leaving?"

"Yes, I am."

"Don't you think we should talk about this?"

"I tried talking, you sent your minions after me as if I was some gold digging whore."

"I'm sorry about that, I .. I didn't know it was you."

"Fine, whatever. I have to go."

"Look, can you just stay here? We need to talk."

"Like how you stayed that night three months ago?" Haley countered. "Look Nathan, we both had too much to drink, we had sex, I got pregnant." She said bluntly but she tried to calm herself down. Her emotions were up and down lately. Sure it sounded cheap but she didn't want him to think of that night meant anymore than it was. Haley reached into her purse and pulled out some sonograms.

"Here are the latest photos, you can keep them." She handed them to him. "I don't know the sex but the doctor said we're both doing fine."

"Is this real?" Nathan mumbled, flipping through the photos.

"As real as it gets." Haley hesitated for a moment but then took his hand and placed it over her small bump. Despite their history, he was still the father, no matter how much she wished he wasn't. Feeling the small but swollen bump, Nathan was taken aback. There it was, his child, their child. Haley might've told him about the pregnancy and showed him the photos but this, this made it truly feel real.

"Haley look.." Nathan spoke up and Haley took a step back.

"Nathan, I came here because I wanted to tell you in person. Unfortunately, your agent wouldn't even let me get near you so I had to tell him I was pregnant first. But I did my part, I told you and now I..I have to go."

"So that's it, you're taking off?"

"So?" Haley shrugged. "You did it or would you have preferred me leaving a _note!_" She sarcastically pointed out. She knew she was being petty but her hormones were on the fritz and telling Nathan she was pregnant with his child was something she didn't want to do.

Nathan tried to stay cool. He deserved that, shoot he deserved a lot more. "We have to figure things out, this is a big deal Haley."

"Don't you think I know that? But there's nothing to figure out. I'm fully capable of raising this child on my own. You deserved the right to know and now you can do whatever you want to do but either way I'm leaving."

"What is that supposed to mean!?" Nathan interrupted.

"Look, I'm not asking you for child support or anything."

"Money, you think this is about money?"

"Didn't you hear me, I don't want or need your money."

"You can't just come into my life and drop this bomb on me." Nathan said frustrated.

"Say's the person who showed up in the middle of the night and knocked me up." Haley rolled her eyes.

Growing annoyed himself, Nathan fired back. "How am I even sure it's mine? Or is it your little friend's name.. what is it Julie .. opps I mean Julian."

She smacked him hard across the face.

Nathan clenched his fist, trying to calm himself. "I deserved that." He mumbled, rubbing his cheeks.

"You deserve more." Haley pointed out. "It's your's Nathan's. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't."

"Okay, fine but would you just stay?"

"And then what, talk about what a happy family we're going to be? I'm not that dumb or naive. I'm done putting my life on hold for you, I have responsibilities back home that I need to tend to."

"And what about my responsibility to OUR child? "

"I told you.. I can do this on my own!" Haley looked away.

It was as if she had punched him in the stomach as he realized what was going on. "Oh I get it, you think I'm just like him."

"Like who?"

"Dan." Nathan crossed his arms. "Is that what you think of me? That I'll be like him? That I'll abandon you like how he did with Karen and Lucas!"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to."

The two stared each other down, the tension so thick it could be cut with a butter knife.

"Hales, you ready!" Lucas barged into the hotel room. "My book signing ended earlier than I thought…" Lucas' voice trailed off as he saw Nathan.

"You." Lucas turned to face his estranged half brother.

"Luke, this is between me and …." Before Nathan could get another word in, Lucas let a mean left hook land squarely on Nathan's jaw.

Nathan fell to the ground as Haley gasped in shock.

_What is this, beat on Nathan day?_ Nathan shook his head as he got up.

"Get out!" Lucas barked.

"I'm not going anywhere." Nathan got back on his feet.

"Doesn't matter, we're leaving anyways." Lucas turned to Haley. "Hales, let's go." He took her suitcase from her.

"Lucas, you can't keep me away.. it's my child, I have a right to be .."

"What?" Lucas squinted back at Nathan and then turned to Haley who looked like a frightened little girl.

"Haley, what's he talking about?"

"He doesn't know does he?" Nathan looked at Haley.

"Know what?" Lucas looked between Nathan and Haley. "What the hell is going on?" Lucas felt a sense of dread.

Nathan handed Lucas one of the sonogram photos. Lucas took a look at it and looked at and his eyes went wide as he stared at it and saw Haley's name on the corner. _Oh no,_ he thought to himself. Lucas lifted his head, his eyes pleading with Haley to tell him that this was just some sick joke.

"I'm sorry Luke." Haley's voice cracked. "I'm pregnant...and Nathan's the father."

The sonogram pictures fell from Lucas' hand and he was left utterly speechless.

. . . .

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me. Where are you?"

"Outside Haley James' hotel?"

"And?"

"Your son is here… actually both of them are."

"I thought Lucas was having a book signing."

"I don't know but I just saw him walk in."

"Okay, keep me posted Renee."

"Will do, Mr. Scott?" Renee smirked as she put her phone back in her purse.

To Be Continued.

And the plot thickens, lol. Please review!


	3. What Is and What Should Never Be

The Search for Something More

Chapter 3 - What is and What Should Never Be

Thank you all for the reviews! I'm really glad you guys are enjoying the story, they make my day especially after the rough past few days I've had. Sorry it took me so long to update, I went away for the weekend. But my car got keyed and then I got rear ended today, so yeah not happy. I was actually glad some of you guys called Nathan a jerk and an ass, because he's not perfect and to write characters as perfect people will be no fun. But you'll see a little more insight into Nathan in this chapter. Also, I'd like to clarify that if you read chapter 1, Miranda is the manager for this "girl" who has yet to be mentioned.

Again, no word on season 8 so please keep showing your love to the show! Contact the CW, mail letters, post cards, basketballs, anything. Let yourself be heard.

Enjoy and please review!!

. . . . .

"There you are!" Clay walked into the guest room where Nathan was staying. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Out." Nathan mumbled as he put his things away.

Clay sighed, not sure how much longer he can take this. "Nathan, where are you going?"

"…"

"Dammit Nathan!" Clay went over and slammed Nathan's suitcase closed. "Look, I'd like to think we're friends, I guess I was wrong!" Clay said sarcastically, "but I'm still your agent Nathan so you need to give me some answers." Clay was more than annoyed and took a step back. "I already got some calls from the press about the incident at the restaurant. Luckily, I was able to hold them off but all we need is for one curious journalist to start digging and that's it for us so I need to know Nathan, but who is she?"

"She's my old girlfriend okay." Nathan opened his suit case back up again and started to put the rest of his things inside. "We dated in high school… it was pretty serious until I left for Maryland."

"And now she's 3 months pregnant?!"

"Yes." Nathan reached into the pockets of one of his suit cases and pulled out the sonograms.

"You saw her?" Clay flipped through the photos.

Nathan nodded. "I had the office call up every hotel in San Francisco, I caught her just before she left." Nathan handed the photos to him.

"But how?"

"You were right, after the Memphis game we both got pretty wasted.."

"She was at the party?" Clay asked.

"No." Nathan shook his head. "I left and hired a driver to take me to Tree Hill.. and yeah.." Nathan's voice trailed off, "when I came back the next morning, you were so hung over, no one knew I was gone."

"Fuck.." Clay muttered, putting the photos down. All the pieces were coming together, no wonder he couldn't get a hold of Nathan that morning. "So, where are you going?"

"I'm going home." Nathan replied. "Not Seattle, but home.. I'm going to Tree Hill."

"To be with her?"

"To be with my unborn child." Nathan added, not denying what Clay just mentioned.

"Fine.. but I'm going with you." Clay stated.

Nathan was about to protest but knew it would be no use. And being back home, he was going to need someone on his side.

"Okay." Nathan nodded his head and Clay was about to head out to get his own things.

"Sorry but the way." Nathan called out and Clay turned around, needing to pack himself. "For not telling you what happened."

"Nathan, you know I got your back right?" Clay said softly.

Nathan nodded.

"I know you put up these walls but I can't help you if you keep shutting me out."

Nathan nodded. "You're right.. again .. I'm . I'm sorry."

Clay nodded back and stared at the ground for a second. The gears in his mind started turning. "But Miranda called me today."

"Does that girl ever stop working?" Nathan continued to gather his things.

"She's just doing her job." Clay replied. "But they're leaving Phoenix, she wanted to know about the charity event at Atlanta."

"Shit." Nathan muttered, completely forgetting about it. "That's coming up right?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it, Atlanta isn't too far from North Carolina, I'll work on something to make it work."

"Did you tell her about Haley?"

"Oh, hell no!" Clay chuckled. "We got a long plane ride ahead of us and we're going to need to figure some things out."

"Yeah.." Nathan sighed. "Sounds fun." He mumbled.

. . . . .

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we'll preparing our descent into the New Brunswick National Airport shortly, please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts." The pilot announced, waking Haley from her sleep.

She rubbed her eyes and looked around and found Lucas staring out the window. Things were awkward between them ever since they left San Francisco several hours ago. After Haley confirmed everything to Lucas, they left the hotel, despite Nathan's protests and headed straight to the airport. Barely a word was spoken between them and Haley was glad to have fallen asleep. She couldn't deal with the tension any longer.

"We're almost home." Lucas muttered, his eyes still transfixed to the window.

"Luke, again I'm sorry." Haley stated. "I wanted to tell you."

"Why didn't you?" Lucas now faced her. He'd spent the past few hours wondering how everything happened.

"Cuz I was scared. I mean, I could hardly believe it too. It was bad enough admitting it to myself let alone to other people, including you."

"You still should've come to me."

"I know and I'm sorry but I couldn't tell you or anyone else until after I told Nathan. Please understand Luke, I know how you feel about him but he's still this child's father."

"I just don't understand how this even happened in the first place." Lucas shook his head.

"We had open mic night at Tric, I was a little tipsy and I came home and there he was .. out of the blue. I slammed the door in his face but he still found his way inside and we talked well argued.. and then it.. escalated." Haley said carefully.

Lucas shook his head, not wanting to know the gory details. "I .. I just can't believe this.. after everything he's done.. how could you?" Lucas asked.

"Lucas I know okay. Everything you're thinking right now, don't you think I didn't think that too?" Haley said frustrated. "After all these years, I thought I was stronger than this and then he just comes back into my life and .. I let him. I let him okay, I know it was weak of me and I made a mistake Luke but what's done is done, I cant'.. I can't change that."

"But you're having his kid for crying out loud. So now the three of you are going to ride out into the sunset?"

"God Luke no. Just because I'm having his child doesn't mean that we're getting back together."

"Really? Because he shows up after all this time and you automatically.." Lucas put his fist against his mouth, afraid he was going to say something he was going to regret. Haley's eyes narrowed at him too, warning him that she wasn't beyond slapping her best friend.

"Like I said Luke, it was a mistake, if I could take it back I would but none of that matters now because in six months, you're going to be an uncle and I'm going to be a mom and I still don't know how I'm going to do this .. especially with everything going on .. I .." Haley's voice cracked.

Lucas started to feel guilty. In his anger he forgot that there was an innocent little child in all this, his nephew or niece. Even if Nathan wasn't the father, Lucas would be that baby's uncle no matter what. He pulled his arm around Haley and pulled her close to him while she quietly sobbed against his chest. "Hales, I'm sorry for making you so upset. I didn't stop to think how all of this has been affecting you but it's going to be okay Hales. We'll get through this.. together."

Wiping her eyes. "Thanks Luke, I really needed that. You're too good to me you know that."

"Well as this kid's favorite uncle, I guess I have no choice." He joked.

Haley gave him a small smile. "You will be this kid's favorite uncle."

"But what about Nathan, Haley? What're you going to do?"

"I know." She said softly. "But he's the father, he has every right to be there for his child."

"I'm worried for you."

"I know you are Luke. I let Nathan get the best of me but not anymore. He's no longer my kryptonite." Haley stated.

Lucas was about to say something but decided against it. The look in his brother's eyes, there was no doubt what he saw. He wondered if Haley ever thought that Nathan's kryptonite was her.

. . . .

_"What's this?" Nathan took the letter and looked at it. He was confused and looked back at his dad._

_"Did you read it?" Dan asked._

"_University of Maryland wants me, so what? I'm already going to Duke." _

"_No, you're not."_

_Nathan looked at his dad as if he were crazy. Duke had been the plan from the start. Even with Dan's consistent badgering and meddling, he thought that this would at least make Dan happy. All Dan cared for was Nathan's basketball career and he was doing exactly what they.. well what Dan had planned since he was a little kid._

"_Look Nathan, I didn't want to be the bearer of bad news but Duke isn't happening."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I got a letter from Duke. Yes, you're still accepted but not on their basketball roster." Dan handed another letter to Nathan._

"_I didn't get a basketball scholarship." Nathan mumbled, he was dumfounded. How the hell did this happen?"_

"_Their roster's locked. You'd be lucky to even get a spot next semester even if you try out." Dan added._

"_But.. but I thought this was a done deal." Nathan was shaking his head, trying to make sense of it all. "I.. I carried the team.. . we went to States.. I was MVP!" Nathan couldn't believe this._

"_You already know they picked up Nino Brown, Devon Williams." Dan replied and Nathan nodded. _

"_They just picked up Damien West from Oak Lake." Dan added._

"_Damien West?! Are you kidding me!?" Nathan threw his hands up. _

"_I wish I was." Dan sighed and shook his head. _

"_Dad, you got to do something.. you have to get me in!" Nathan pleaded._

"_I called every contact I had, called in old favors.. I was one step away from bribery son.. I'm.. I'm sorry." Dan turned away._

"_But Duke was the plan." _

"_The plan was for you to play college ball in a Division I school.. the plan's still there son."_

"_But Duke."_

"_Duke's a lost cause Nathan. But we don't have time to dwell on it. If we wait, we lose our chances of still making you viable." Dan pointed out. "U-Conn, Syracuse and Maryland all accepted you but Maryland has the most potential. Their freshmen this year has been solid and you can add to that next season. They also offered you the best deal, a full ride and 6__th__ man."_

"_But it's not Duke."_

"_I know, but there's still Division I school and more importantly, they still want you."_

"_But.. I.." Nathan shook his head as his whole world was unraveling._

"_Oh I get it." Dan stated and took a step back. "It's about her isn't?"_

"_What're you talking about?"_

"_Hannah, that's who!"_

_Nathan gritted his teeth. Dan knew damn well what her name was. "It's Haley."_

"_Let me guess.. _Haley." _Dan emphasized, "was going to follow you to Duke, huh?"_

_Nathan stayed quiet._

"_I can't believe this!" Dan rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you're willing to throw away your whole future on some girl."_

"_She's not just some girl, Dad! She's THE girl."_

"_How would you know Nathan? You're only 18 for crying out loud, what do you know?"_

"_I know that I love her dad and where I go to school affects both of us."_

"_No, where you got to school affects YOU!" Dan pointed to him. "Don't you get it son, I know, okay."_

"_You don't know anything."_

"_Does Karen ring a bell? Your mother!" Dan pointed out. "Yes, I'll be the first to admit it, I've been hard on you but it was only to make sure you wouldn't repeat my mistakes."_

"_The last time I checked, Haley's not pregnant." Nathan pointed out._

"_Not yet, anyways." Dan fired back but took a deep breath to calm down. If he wanted to get through to his son, he needed to be calm. "Look Nathan, I understand how it was to be in high school and in love and don't you think I didn't go through the same thing with Karen when we were in high school but we both knew it was time to grow up and we both went our separate ways. I admit that when Karen got pregnant I could've handled things differently but I didn't know that when I met your mother. The next thing I knew I'd fallen head over heals for Deb and we rushed things and then she was pregnant and then everything spiraled out of control. 18 years later, you and your mother thought we can do it all too, have our cake and eat it too but it doesn't work out that way. Your mother and I were forced into a situation and years later, it only left us in a bitter divorce."_

"_Situation, you mean me?" Nathan narrowed his eyes._

"_Son, you know your mother and I love but you don't understand how hard it was, the sacrifices we made to raise you. And even if we didn't have you and I didn't have my injury, you'd still be out on the road, away games, practices, study sessions, do you honestly think you'll have time for Haley?"_

"_But.."_

"_No, Nathan.. think about it. I know I didn't raise a fool. You go to Duke and then what? There's no basketball, there's no future for you there. But you go to Maryland, you'll get your minutes, you'll get national coverage."_

_Nathan looked down, not saying a word._

"_Let me ask you something, if you weren't planning to go to Duke, would Haley have gone there?"_

_Nathan still remained silent._

"_I thought so." Dan shook his head. "Think about Haley, son. I'm pretty sure the school valedictorian can go to any school she wanted to. Nathan, this is the future here. Do the right thing.. for both of you." Dan picked up the letter from Maryland and handed it back to Nathan. _

_Nathan stared at the acceptance letter. One minute he had it all, Duke, Haley and now, now he felt like he lost both. As much as he hated to admit it, Dan was right. The only reason Haley was going to Duke was because of him. He knew damn well where her dream school was. He applied to Stanford but unfortunately their school wasn't as big on basketball and he didn't get in. Haley had told him that it didn't matter where she went to school, as long as they were together. It didn't sit right with him that she was giving up Stanford for him. She had already done so much for him. But she reminded him that Duke was also known for other things other than basketball. They had an excellent academic program, which helped made Nathan feel better with her decision to follow him to Duke._

_But now, now everything was different. He knew she didn't apply to Maryland and at this point, would he even ask her to. Would they even accept her when she got full rides to all the colleges she applied to. In all this, she's the one that sacrificed for him and in the end, it was all for nothing. Academically, he knew Maryland wasn't as great of a school as Duke or Stanford. Haley is a smart girl, the smartest person he ever knew and it wasn't fair for her to lower her standards for him. She deserved to be great and knew that being together would only hold her back. He loved her, God he loved her but he couldn't be selfish, he couldn't have it all._

_He stared at the acceptance letter long and hard. In the end, there was only one thing he could do.. let her go._

. . . .

The plane shook slightly as it touched the ground, stirring Nathan from his thoughts. He remembered how he let her go, the disappointment in her face when he told her that he wasn't going to Duke and that she should go to Stanford. He never saw her so hurt and angry. Yet, he remained strong because he thought that was what she needed. She couldn't follow him, she needed to live her life. At the time he thought he was doing the right thing, she ended up going to her dream school after all. But now, he wasn't so sure.

It had been five long years of bitterness, anger and regret. He tried to stay away but he couldn't. Getting her pregnant could attest to that. He still wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do in Tree Hill but he meant what he told Haley. He wanted to be a part of their child's life and if it meant being back in Haley's life then so be it. He didn't ask for any of this, never planned but here it was. He walked away three months ago after sleeping with her and what good that did that do to him. It was a hard lesson learned but Nathan wasn't going to walk away. Not again.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we just touched down at New Brunswick National Airport, we will be taxing for the next several minutes. Please wait until the plane has come to a complete stop and the pilot has disengaged the seatbelts sign before getting up from your seats. Remember to be careful when opening the over head compartment as items may have shifted during flight. The use of personal cell phones and pagers are not permitted. Thank you for flying with us and hope you see you again on your next trip." The stewardess announced.

Immediately, Clay pulled out his cell phone and turned his blackberry back on. Nathan chuckled next to him as Clay started to scroll through the various e-mails and texts he missed out on.

Nathan sat up and stretched his neck. He couldn't get a direct flight to Tree Hill so they had to stop over in Cleveland first. To make matters worse, every flight was booked and he could only score coach seats. It was already late and Nathan couldn't wait to hit the bed. Lord only knows these uncomfortable seats couldn't be good for his back.

"You okay?" Clay asked, his eyes never leaving his phone. "I know these seats aren't good for your back, shoot they're not good for anyone's back."

"Yeah, but I'm okay. We just need to get to the hotel so I can stretch, take a hot shower and sleep." Nathan was drained both physically and emotionally.

"So what's the plan huh?"

"Plan?"

"To win Haley's heart back."

"What're you talking about?"

"Nathan, why else are we here?"

"She's carrying my child, dumbass."

"Yeah, but she's still 6 months from giving birth." Clay sat up and put his phone away. "Look man, you said you and her were pretty serious, I didn't even think that you were even capable of a long term relationship."

"It's in the past Clay.. besides it doesn't matter." Nathan turned his head. "She doesn't want me anyway." Nathan mumbled.

"Yeah.. but do you still want her?"

Nathan never looked back nor answered the question. It didn't matter, Clay was sure he already knew the answer. He'd never seen Nathan like this and pregnant or not, he knew this girl meant more than just a random hook up with his ex. It was all starting to make sense, the mask that Nathan Scott hides behind, the walls he hides behind. Clay knew all too well, it takes one to know one after all.

. . . . .

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mr. Scott. It's me."

"I've been expecting your call, Renee. Where are you?"

"Still in San Francisco."

"And Nathan?"

"I followed him to the airport, I was able to get info from the teller that he booked a flight to Tree Hill."

Dan smiled. "Okay, good."

"Is there anything else you need from me Mr. Scott?"

"Not at the moment. I'll be in touch, Renee." Dan put his phone away and leaned back against his chair in his study. He looked over to one of the shelves and stared at a picture of Nathan from his first year at Maryland which was right next to one of him when he played for the Ravens. He cracked his knuckles and smiled, both his sons were finally back home.

. . . .

_Dan was in his study over looking some of the paper work from the University of Maryland. Dan was very pleased that Nathan made the right choice and accepted Maryland's offer. Dan looked things over to make sure Nathan was covered, his tuition, housing, meals. He started to put the papers away, everything looked to be in order._

_His cell phone started ringing and he picked it up._

"_Hello."_

"_Dan Scott, it's Donald West, Damien's father."_

"_Oh yes, Donald, good to hear from you again."_

"_Look, I just can't thank you enough for your help getting my boy into Duke."_

"_It was no problem and you're very welcome." Dan smiled._

"_I still can't believe that your boy Nathan would pass up such a great opportunity.. I mean Duke is a great school."_

"_Yeah, Duke is great but it wasn't for him." Dan replied as he thought about how he was finally able to get Nathan away from Haley once and for all. "But Donald, that was a very personal choice for my son and I hope you understand that I only ask for your complete discretion about this."_

"_Oh no worries from me. Damien's so happy.. I wouldn't want to ruin this for him but don't worry I won't tell a soul. Thanks again Dan."_

"_No, thank you." Dan smiled as he sat back and cracked his knuckles, looking at a picture of Nathan in his Raven's jersey. _

To Be Continued . . .


	4. Between Order and Randomness

The Search for Something More

Chapter 4 - Between Order and Randomness

Thank you all for the reviews last chapter. I got a little side tracked this week and didn't have time between getting into a minor car accident, work and randomly getting a new car. The good news is that next chapter should be ready to publish soon. Just to clarify Nathan and Lucas are half brothers like on the show. Of course Dan is up to no good but you'll see his role down a couple of chapters. I'm also glad you like Clay. It'll be a challenge bringing the bromance with both Lucas and Clay in the story. So I just want to reiterate, Haley is pregnant with Nathan's child and you'll get a little bit more insight into the past as to what was going on with Nathan and Haley. Just want to clarify a few things that italics are flashbacks. The present timeline has all the characters back in Tree Hill after Andre's bday party in San Francisco. Nathan and Haley broke up 5 years ago at the end of high school, 6 months ago Nathan had his accident and 3 months ago Haley got pregnant. Hope that clears up some time line issues because this chapter begins at the end of Nathan's 2nd year of college.

Enjoy and please review!!

. . . . .

"_Great game."_

"_Umm.. thanks." Nathan replied politely as he made his way out of the bus and back onto campus. The Maryland Terps just came back from a successful away game series led by none other than sophomore Nathan Scott._

"_I'm Clay.. by the way.. Clay Evans." Clay stuck out his hand._

"_Hey." Nathan looked at him curiously and shook his hand._

"_This is my card." Clay handed it to him and Nathan glanced at it._

"_Sports Arc?"_

"_That's the agency I work for... as in sports agency." _

"_Yeah.. of course I knew that." Nathan replied and eyed Clay curiously._

"_Look, I'm going to cut to the chase.. I think you're a great player.. an awesome player actually and I want to represent you." Clay smiled proudly._

"_Represent me?" Nathan was a little surprised. Sure he'd met a bunch of sports agents since came to college but he was only ending his second year. Shouldn't he be more interested in the seniors, he thought._

"_Look Nathan, I've been following you for the past two years. You're a great player but with a mediocre team. Devon Williams is a great player but he's selfish and he's hurting your chances of getting a title." _

"…"

"_Look man, it's no secret that you two don't get along. I got connections and next season, you can finally start playing for the big leagues."_

"_How do you know that I don't like college ball? Of course the NBA is the plan but why now?"_

_Clay smirked. "Cuz I did my research on you. I know Maryland wasn't your top pick, shoot, I doubt it was even top 3_." _Clay recounted._

"_So?" Nathan eyed him curiously. Some expose on him in the school paper uncovered that Nathan originally wanted to be a Blue Devil, a fierce rival to the Terps but the fans have forgiven him because of his great playing abilities but they were others on the team like Devon who didn't take the news too lightly._

"_So, I know that things with Duke didn't work out and you had to settle for the Terps. A national title would be great but this wasn't how you wanted it. It's not the same but just give me a chance I guarantee that you'll be suiting up for the NBA."_

_Nathan smirked back, at least the guy did his homework. "Okay, but why you?"_

"_Honestly?" Clay replied. "I've had a bit of a slump.. personal issues." Clay alluded. "So I need something big and I see that with you. You have nothing to lose Nathan."_

_Nathan studied Clay for a second. The guy obviously spent more time doing his hair than him but there was something about him, a honesty to him that he felt. He was right about one thing, he did settle with the Terps. Sure, he played because that's his job but Devon wasn't making it impossible and the coach was always biased towards him no matter how many buckets he put up. Like Clay said, he had nothing to lose._

"_Alright fine." Nathan shook his hand._

_. . . . . _

After a sleepless night, Nathan woke up early and got out of his bed. As soon as he and Clay landed in Tree Hill last night, they went straight to the hotel. The hotel itself was pretty decent considering that they were in Tree Hill. He looked out the window and saw the sun already shining. Looking around, he could hardly believe he was finally back home. Glancing at the clock, Nathan figured Clay was probably still passed out. Nathan knew he'd rather be alone but he was grateful that Clay was with him. Clay can help deal with things while Nathan could focus his attention to more important issues like Haley and his child.

His head was still wrapping around the idea of being a father. On top of that, he wasn't exactly sure what he was doing here in the first place. He still had an NBA career to get back to and he still wasn't sure what to do with Haley. Yes, they were having a child together but she made it pretty clear that she didn't want nor need his help. Still, it was his child and he wouldn't be like Dan and leave Haley to fend for herself. All Nathan knew was that he needed to be here and show her that he wasn't going anywhere. Getting dressed, he headed outside, needing some air.

As he approached the River Court, he could see that someone was already there. It didn't surprise him one bit who the person was.

"I didn't expect you so soon." Lucas commented dryly as he saw Nathan step out onto the Rivercourt.

Nathan stood at the sidelines while Lucas dribbled the ball, moving left to right and then taking a fade away jump shot. The ball landed easily through the basket and Nathan bent down and grabbed the rolling ball.

"So you were expecting me?" Nathan countered.

"I wouldn't put it pass you." Lucas went to the nearby picnic table and grabbed a bottle of water he left there. Taking a gulp, Lucas turned back to him. "Why are you even here?"

"Are you seriously asking me that? It's my kid Lucas." Nathan pointed out.

"You're not fooling anyone, you know." Lucas quickly replied.

"What're you talking about?"

"Haley. That's what I'm talking about. I know you want her back."

Nathan looked at him as if he were crazy. "Hello Pucas, she's pregnant."

"And how convenient for you?" Lucas replied smugly.

"What the hell are you saying?"

"I think you know." Lucas stated.

"I didn't get her pregnant on purpose, jack ass."

"Really, cuz all of a sudden out of the blue you show up and bam she's pregnant." Lucas shook his head.

"You're crazy you know that!" Nathan shot back. "And FYI, she's the one that came to see me!"

"Really? Cuz according to her, you showed up out of the blue three months ago!" Lucas fired back.

"I wasn't talking about that."

Lucas looked at Nathan curiously before realization dawned on him. "6 months ago while you were at the hospital?" Lucas mumbled and Nathan nodded.

"I knew it." Lucas blew out. "You still didn't answer me about wanting her back." Lucas pointed out. "Do you still love her?"

Nathan was a little surprised. He wasn't expecting that. Nathan stayed quiet, not sure how to answer. Nathan was about to say something but words were failing him at the moment.

"Don't bother answering, I already know." Lucas spoke up. "I'm not an idiot Nathan. I saw the pictures, the footage from the parties. You forget there was a time we actually hung out. _Playboy Nathan Scott_, what a joke. You were bored, those girls meant nothing to you.. even the one you're with now. I could tell."

"Like how would you know?" Nathan fired back.

"You're right, I don't. I can only guess because not only did you cut Haley out of your life but me and all our friends as well."

"I'm.. I'm sorry for that. I.. I thought it'd be easier."

"Easier?"

"On Haley, I didn't want you guys to choose." Nathan looked to the ground. If he was going to start making amends with Haley, he knew he had to put his pride away and apologize to his brother. "You may not believe me but I thought I was doing the right thing. Duke didn't work out and I didn't want her to be sacrificing so I stepped in okay. You may not have agreed with it but you knew damn well that it was the only way for Haley to go to Stanford."

Lucas stared his brother down and knew he was telling the truth. As messed up as he was, he could tell that Nathan was only trying to do what he thought was right even though he was clearly wrong.

"You really don't get it do you?" Lucas let out a soft sigh.

"Could I have handled it differently? Yeah, maybe but we were 18, everything was changing so fast, one minute we had this plan to go to Duke then the next minute everything shot to hell. I wouldn't and couldn't let Haley follow me. She needed to live her own life too."

Lucas shook his head, obviously his brother was still not getting it but he understood his brother's position. It still didn't make things right though.

"What're you going to do Nathan? Stay here for the rest of the season or did you forget that this is also your contract year."

Nathan looked curiously back at Lucas.

"Oh don't look at me that way, of course I know. I may not play ball anymore but I still watch Sports Center."

"Look, I know I still have my responsibilities to the Sonics but .." Nathan shook his head and sighed. "You know she told me that she could raise this child on her own, she just assumed that I was going to be like Dan."

"She said that?"

"She didn't need to." Nathan sighed. "Think what you will about me but you and I both agree that Dan's an ass and you know that even I wouldn't do that.. if any thing believe me on that." Nathan looked his brother straight in the eye.

"Look at what happened between you and Dan, I don't want my kid to ever think of me that way, that I didn't care and that I abandoned him." Nathan added.

Lucas contemplated his words for a second before nodding his head in agreement. Nathan did have a point. "Okay, fine Nathan.. but you're just going to hurt her again, I know it."

"Well, you're wrong. I'm not out to hurt Haley."

"I know that, just because you don't mean to hurt doesn't mean you won't and at the end of the day when the dust settles, it'll be me to put back the pieces… AGAIN." Lucas stated firmly.

"Cut me some slack Luke, I'm trying to do the right thing here!" Nathan grew annoyed but knew he had to stand his ground.

"Fair enough." Lucas nodded his head. "But I still don't trust you."

"Fair enough." Nathan imitated his brother's earlier actions and nodded his head in agreement. Then he took the basketball in his hands and took a shot, nothing but net. There were two things that bonded Lucas and Nathan during high school, one was Haley and the other was basketball. Since Haley was still a sore topic to discuss, Nathan opted for the other.

"But how about I play you for it?" Nathan smirked back to Lucas. Lucas couldn't help but chuckle while shaking his head.

_. . . . . _

_Nathan looked around his nearly empty dorm room. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. He had to give it to Clay, he actually pulled through. The deal Clay got him was too good to pass up. In a couple of days, he was heading to Seattle for pre-training camp. Dan had been livid. His dad lectured him about him throwing his future away by jumping in the NBA so soon. Like he knew what he was talking about, Nathan had already surpassed Dan in college ball, who was he to decide what was best for him. He didn't understand his father but Nathan knew that. The goal was always the NBA and it didn't even matter that Nathan was finally in, his dad would never be happy. He even criticized the deal they were offering, only a one year contract with a modest salary. Still, if he did well, he'd get an automatic two year extension with an increase in pay. Nathan had been in denial his whole life but now he realized the truth. No matter what he did, it would never be enough for his dad. There would always be something to knit pick or criticize. He couldn't deal with that anymore, with him. Now he was settled and on his own, he decided once and for all to be free of Dan. Nothing would ever be good enough for him. _

_Two years at Maryland and he was already tired of it. Sure being on the basketball team had it's perks but Nathan felt like he was always in the same routine. Classes, parties, games, it was like high school all again, and the idea of breaking that monotony and heading to a new city was something that appealed to Nathan. Ever since he arrived at Maryland, Nathan never felt like he belonged and had a hard time adjusting. He was cool with most of the guys on the team except Nino and his friends but he never had any close friends like he did in Tree Hill. In fact, he lost all contact with them but he knew it was his fault. In breaking up with Haley, he broke ties with everyone else back home. _

_He already broke his rule about thinking about her. It was two years for crying out loud but his mind would always find it's way back to her. It was torture and he contemplated about just picking up the phone and talking to her. She tried talking to him during his first year at school but the break up was so fresh, he had no choice but to cut her off completely. She deserved a life without him haunting her and him the same. As much as it pained him, she needed to move on from him._

_That didn't mean he didn't think of perhaps one day seeing her again, maybe the possibility of them getting back together again after they both lived their lives. He missed her so much over the past two years. His first day of class, he wanted to call her to tell her how his day was. He wondered if she ever saw his games and was proud of what he was able to accomplish. And now with his dreams within reach, he still wasn't satisfied. Would it hurt to call her, to say hi. There were so many times, he wanted to call her and each time he backed away. When Clay broke the news, it was her face he saw not the images of playing professional ball. _

_His hands reached for his phone and he clicked on her name. After a ring, he quickly ended the call. Who was he kidding, he couldn't just talk to her after ignoring her for so long. His thoughts were broken when his phone started to ring and he saw her name flash on the screen. He held his finger over the end button but ultimately decided to pick it up._

"_Hello." He answered._

"_Na.. Nathan is this you?" Haley replied from the other end._

"_Yeah.. Haley, it's me." Nathan cleared his throat._

"_Oh." He could hear the awkwardness in her voice. _

"_Um.. how are you?" He asked and he instantly wanted to kick himself. What kind of stupid question was that?_

"_Um.. okay. Is there something you want?" Haley was curt. She couldn't quite believe that she was actually talking to Nathan._

_Nathan stayed quiet for a second._

"_Is everything okay, are you alright?" She asked a bit more concerned. Maybe something bad had happened and that's why he was calling, she thought. _

"_Yeah... I'm.. I'm fine. I'm just.." He struggled to find the words and he sat on his bed scratching his forehead. "I'm sorry I haven't kept in touch.. everything has just been so busy.. I'm.. I'm sorry." He mumbled.._

"_Umm.. okay." Haley was a little confused. Two years of silence and now he's apologizing, it doesn't work that way. "Well, I'm glad you're okay." As much as Haley was happy to hear from Nathan, all it did was bring up bad memories. Her break up with Nathan was devastating and she couldn't be sucked into all that.. not again._

_Sensing that she wanted to end the conversation, Nathan had to think fast. The sound of her voice was like music to his ears and now that he was talking to her, she couldn't just hang up on him._

"_I got in." He announced._

"_In?"_

"_The NBA." He clarified. "I met this really great agent and he got me a deal. I'm going to become part of the Sonics in Seattle." He added._

"_Are you serious?" _

"_Yeah.. it's pretty wild."_

"_Wow, Nathan.. that's..that's really great. I'm happy for you." Haley knew how important this was for him. She knew all about his life's dream of playing for the NBA. Sure most people set that goal for themselves but few actually achieve. Despite everything Nathan had done to her, she was still proud that he was able to go after what he wanted, even if it wasn't her._

"_It happened all so fast.. I didn't think this day would come.. it's only been two years at college. I didn't expect this at all."_

"_I.. I know what you mean."_

"_Crap, look at me. I keep blabbing about myself.. umm.. how are you doing?" Nathan felt like a jackass. Still, at least she hadn't hung up on him yet._

"_Oh, school is school. I'm glad the semester is over and I'm heading back to Tree Hill."_

"_Sounds like you had a tough semester."_

"_Yeah, you can say that. Keeping up with everything and classes was difficult. "_

"_But you're like a genius." Nathan laughed._

"_No, I'm not." Haley laughed. "The classes are great, the teachers are tough but it was much more difficult to juggle everything in college than in high school." Despite her best wishes, she felt herself opening up to him. It was nothing new, they always had an instant connection from the moment they first met. There were times when she tutored him in high school before they were a couple that they would just talk about anything and everything, completely bypassing the study session. They talked casually for the next few minutes, keeping the conversation light, avoiding certain awkward topics about their relationship. _

"_Hey, I actually have to go." Haley stated as she saw the clock. "Lucas is actually here in the bay area to for a book signing." _

"_I heard about his book publishing.. that's really great. I know he dreamed of being a writer."_

"_Like you, the basketball player." Haley added. "I guess you both got what you wanted."_

"_Yeah.." Nathan let the words hang._

"_I'm.. I'm actually going with Lucas on some of his stops."_

"_That sounds fun."_

"_Yeah, we're heading over to LA, Chicago and Washington." Haley cursed to herself, why did she mention that._

"_DC?" Nathan asked._

"_Yeah." _

"_I'm just outside DC." Nathan replied._

I know, _Haley thought to herself. _

"_I mean if you're going to be in town, we .. we should meet up." Nathan wanted desperately to see her now. Sure there was awkwardness between them but maybe, just maybe there could be something, anything. He hated how things ended and now that he felt like he was better control of his life, maybe he could do something about it._

"_Oh, I'll be there on Wednesday.. I'm not sure if you'll still be around."_

"_I'm still here." Nathan added quickly. He knew for a fact he wasn't due to leave until Wednesday night but it's okay, he could bump his flight, training camp wasn't starting up until Monday. "I mean if you aren't too busy."_

"_Umn.. yeah no, that's sounds nice." Haley was already shaking her head. Why did she just agree to this. She needed to think fast and then it dawned on her. She would be with Lucas. Yes, Lucas, having him there would help. She was just meeting her ex boyfriend. Nothing wrong with that. And they were brother's for crying out loud. Sure there was bad blood between them after their break up but both of them were doing so well in their lives now. Despite whatever ill feelings she had towards Nathan, she didn't want to be the reason for them to be apart, even though it was her that brought them together._

"_I'll be at the book signing. I think it starts at 3 at some book store. The details are on the publisher's website, so you can just search for it. It's Straus Publishing."_

"_Ok great.." Nathan went on his laptop and quickly searched for the location. "Umm.. I see it now, I know where this is." Nathan scrolled through the information on the website. " I'll.. I'll see you there."_

"_Yeah.. umm.. I guess. I'll see you in a few days." Haley hung up the phone but couldn't help but feel the mixture of dread and excitement._

. . . .

KNOCK KNOCK

"Who the hell?!" Haley muttered to herself. _Who the hell is awake at this ungodly time of .. opps 10:30 am._ Haley looked over at her alarm clock. Guess, she overslept but she had every right. The last few days have left her drained both physically and mentally. She definitely needed a morning just to sleep in. Getting up, she secured her robe and made her way down the stairs. Looking through the peep hole, she saw a tall, dark haired man outside.

Smiling she opened the door.

"I brought breakfast." He smiled, holding up a box of pasties and a stainless steel thermos filled with coffee.

"Come in." She motioned.

"How's my girl?" He asked, kissing her on the cheek.

"Julian." She warned playfully. Despite their break up, the two remained good friends but she was glad to see him. She was actually a little hungry.

"Kidding, kidding." He chuckled as he made his way to the kitchen and put the food down. "How was San Francisco, I wish I could've gone with you guys for the book signing?"

"It was fine." She said vaguely as she rummaged the box full of treats and pulled out a blue berry muffin.

Julian grabbed two mugs and started to pour both of them a cup.

"No coffee for me." She added.

"You sure?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah." She replied as she went to the fridge and poured herself a glass of orange juice.

"Oh okay." He brushed it off, Haley almost always drank coffee in the morning. "I can't believe Lucas published his second book already." Julian added a second later.

"I know." She said as she took a sip of her juice.

"You know I still remember the first book signing I went to." Julian replied.

"Where was it again.. oh yeah DC, you remember right?" Julian smiled, remembering their first date.

Haley tensed up. How could she forget?

. . . .

"_Don't get mad but Julian is coming." Lucas took a seat and turned back to Haley._

"_What? Are you serious!?" Haley couldn't believe this._

"_Hales, he's my room mate, plus he wanted to come."_

"_He came to your book signing to see me." Haley pointed out._

"_Ouch Hales, that hurts." Lucas placed his hand over his heart and feigned injury._

"_What, you know it's true."_

"_Look Haley, if I didn't think Julian was a good guy then I wouldn't be hanging out with him, much less hanging out with you and him. Come on Hales, when was the last time you went on a date?"_

"_Since when are you so concerned about my love life?"_

"_When Haley?"_

"…"

"_It's been two years, Hales.. you can't keep waiting for him." Lucas replied carefully._

_Haley looked at her watch, the book signing was supposed to start twenty minutes ago but the book store was running late and there was still no sign of Nathan. She'd debated telling Lucas that he was coming, but decided against it. She didn't want to make it a big deal, even though she knew it was. She knew how Lucas' reaction would be and she hated how the two drifted apart. It was Nathan's fault yes but they were both having their dreams come true, Lucas with his book and Nathan with his basketball. _

"_I'm not waiting for him." Haley tried to defend herself, the irony was not lost on her._

_The store manager called Lucas' name out and signaled to him that they were going to start._

"_Hales, just think about it. Julian's a good guy. Plus if he hurts you, he'll know I'll kick his ass." Lucas smirked._

_An hour later, the book signing was wrapping up and Julian eventually joined them._

"_So, first time in DC?" Julian asked as he and Haley stayed off at the sidelines. She'd looked bored and distracted and he wanted to do something about that, especially when she was looking so hot at the moment._

"_Yep." Haley answered, looking around but still no sign of Nathan._

_It was no use, he wasn't coming. The minutes ticked away and she felt all hope of him showing up vanishing. She couldn't believe she let herself believe or fall for Nathan's tricks again. When he called, it sounded like Nathan again, her Nathan. He was so happy to be in the NBA now but she thought that he was happy to hell her all this. When they were dating and Dan would rip into Nathan's basketball, it was her that cheered him on and who he wanted to share the games with._

_What could she really expect anyway? She was still in school, he was off playing ball. She had some unrealistic expectations about today and it was time for her to finally suck it up and start facing reality. He'd move on with his life. Sure he called but what did that have to do with anything. She'd been telling everyone she was fine and had moved forward but really she hadn't. Lucas was right, the last person she went on a date was Nathan and she knew that in order to completely break away from him, she needed to move on. _

"_There's this nice area called Georgetown."_

_Julian's voice brought Haley back from her thoughts. "By the school right?" _

"_Yeah, they got lots of shops and restaurants.. I was wondering if you wanted to go there.. tonight.. for dinner." Julian asked nervously._

"_Are you asking me out on a date?" Haley eyed him curiously. _

"_Yes.. no .. I mean.. yeah .. I am." Julian mumbled like a little kid. _

_Haley laughed. Julian was nice, good looking and funny. Sure the guy wanted to be a director or producer but what you saw was what you get. He didn't hide behind walls, he carried no baggage and was as opposite from Nathan Scott as you could get. She thought about what Lucas said, it was finally time to take the next step. "Okay."_

"_Ok?" Julian was a little surprised._

"_Ok as in I'll have dinner with you tonight."_

"_As a date?"_

"_Yeah, as a date." Haley smiled. _

"_Oh that's great." he suddenly pulled Haley in for a hug._

"_What's going on?" Lucas asked as he turned around to face them._

"_Haley and I are going on a date tonight." Julian proudly proclaimed, putting an arm around Haley. _

"_Finally wore her down huh?" Lucas smiled._

"_Oh shut up. It's dinner." Haley pointed out and needing to shift gears. "I'm so happy for you Luke." She went up to him and hugged him._

"_Yeah, man." Julian agreed. "Congratulations." The two shook hands. _

"_Thanks guys." _

"_Hey, I need to make a call real quick." Julian excused himself and pulled out his cell phone. Making a call, he placed the phone in his ear as he walked through a crowd of people._

"_Hey, my name's Julian Baker, I need a table reservation tonight.. for two.. the most romantic spot table you got." Julian smiled and passed by a couple of people, including a certain raven haired blue eyed boy. _

_Nathan narrowed his eyes at the punk who passed him by. He went all over DC to look for purple lilies that he knew Haley would like. Unfortunately the only florist that carried it was across town and the metro was having service delays which caused him to be late. But he came just in time to see Haley and her _boyfriend_ maul each other and to make it worse, Lucas was there. Rewind back to high school and the scene would've replayed itself out but with him by Haley's side, not this punk. Jealousy couldn't even describe how he felt at the moment. He clenched his fist together, so angry.. angry at himself. He cursed to himself, of course she moved on. Who wouldn't want a girl like Haley James?_

_What could he really expect? A random phone call and expect that the two can get back together. It wasn't lost to him that when he moved to Seattle that he and Haley would be in the same time zone but that meant nothing. Seattle and San Francisco were hours apart and on top of that he would be busy practicing or hitting the road. He was delusional, to think he could really have it all. Feeling broken and defeated he threw the flowers in a nearby trash can and left. _

_. . . . . _

"How do you like the muffins? I got them from that new bakery that opened up."

"Hmm, it's good." Haley replied, her mouth a bit stuffed.

Julian laughed. "I can see, that was like the third one you had?" He teased.

"Are you trying to imply something Baker?" Haley narrowed her eyes at him.

"No, no." Julian shook his head and took another bite of his muffin. He tried to hide his laughter, Haley was so cute when she got mad. He couldn't help it. It was one of the things he loved about her, one of the reasons why after being broken up for half a year that he couldn't move on. He'd been patient with her, giving her time and space. Last month, they hung out together and ended up going home together too. He thought that he made a breakthrough but she put her walls back up even higher since then. He was glad she was back from her trip with Lucas. He needed to show her that they belonged together.

"I'm going to brush my teeth." Haley announced as she finished her food and got up and placed her plate in the sink.

"Okay, I'll clean up." Julian added as Haley left the kitchen. Breakfast had gone well but something was off, he could feel it. He started putting the dishes away and noticed that the thermos was still half full. Then he looked over on the island and saw Haley's purse there. Walking over to it, he noticed that it was resting on a black and white photo. Moving the purse aside, his heart dropped as he saw the sonogram.

. . . . .

"I don't understand why you're here." Nathan turned to his brother.

"I told you I don't trust you."

"You're just mad that I beat your ass in one on one." Nathan smirked.

"Hello NBA player, my name is Lucas Scott." Luke turned to Nathan and stuck out his hand.

"Whatever." Nathan mumbled. "And would you relax, I just want to make sure Haley's okay and maybe be there for the next doctor's appointment."

"Fine, but I'm still coming with you." Lucas followed Nathan as they walked through Haley's front porch. As much as Lucas hated to admit it, Nathan did have the right to be there and he wouldn't deny another man, no matter who it was, the right to see their own child. The morning had gone off better than he had expected. He and Nathan shot around, even played a game or two. Sure Nathan beat him each time but it still was enjoyable. Lucas may not play for a team but he still played with friends, friends who were below his skill. It was nice to get challenged again, even though he knew that Nathan's game was far more superior than his.

Lucas knocked but no one replied. He heard voices inside and figured maybe the TV was on or something. Turning the knob, he realized the door was already unlocked. He stepped inside with Nathan right behind him. He was about to call her name out when they heard voices from the kitchen.

"Julian, let me explain!" Haley exclaimed.

"Haley, there's nothing to explain.. and it's okay.. we're okay." Julian still had the sonogram in his hands.

"Julian, please."

"It's fine Haley, I know this must be all new to you too but.."

"Julian, wait there's been a misunderstanding.."

Julian ignored her and did what he thought was the right thing to do. "I get it Haley, why you didn't have coffee this morning, why you've been so weird. You don't have to worry, I love you and I love our child." Julian proclaimed.

Haley shook her head, Julian couldn't be any more further from the truth. She cursed herself for being careless and leaving the sonogram lying around. Of course he would think this baby was his but he obviously didn't see the time stamp of the sonogram.

She was about to speak but he took her hand in his, getting down on one knee,

"Haley James, will you marry me?" Julian asked.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?!"

Haley whipped her head around and found a fuming Nathan with Lucas holding him back. _Oh crap.  
_

To Be Continued . . . .

I always love a jealous Nathan, please review!


	5. Your Cheatin Heart

The Search for Something More

Chapter 5 – You're Cheating Heart

Thank you all for the feedback, please keep them coming as they help keep me motivated. I tried my best to comment back on the feedback I got but I'm glad you are all enjoying. Now this chapter will reference something back to chapter 1 and you'll definitely get some explanations about certain things about Julian and Haley and I'm sure you guys will all have questions at the end. In this chapter and last, we got a little hint into Haley's past but I'm glad you guys were happy that Haley was seeing someone else. I didn't want Haley to be the one who was alone this whole time while Nathan basically dumped her. These first couple of chapters is really a focus on Nathan and Naley but in the upcoming chapters we'll get to see more of what was going on with Haley. The chapters in this story are a little bit longer than my usual chapters for my other stories, something some of you mentioned you liked. This chapter is no exemption, as well as some of the upcoming ones. There's definitely a lot more to this story.

On another note, please keep the campaign to bring OTH back for a season 8 alive. I sent out a couple of post cards and basketballs myself, feel free to do the same. Target or toy stores sell them for very cheap, like $2-3, and add another $5 for shipping.

I'm on vacation right now but was able to squeeze sometime in to at least publish this chapter. Thanks to Kelly for her help, we tried to fix all grammar/spelling issues so I apologize if there were some we missed. So please review and hope you enjoy!

. . . . .

"Haley James, will you marry me?" Julian asked on his knees.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?!" Nathan's voice boomed from the hallway

Haley whipped her head around and found a fuming Nathan with Lucas holding him back. _Oh crap, _Haley thought to herself.

"Nathan, calm down!" Lucas held him back.

Julian looked down the hall and saw Lucas holding some guy back but Lucas was blocking him and Julian couldn't get a good look. He looked back up at Haley but her eyes were on them not on him.

"Let me go!" Nathan exclaimed, trying to wrangle out of Lucas' grasp.

"Haley, deal with this." Lucas ordered as he grabbed Nathan and pulled him out of the house.

"Get your hands off me!" Nathan protested as Lucas dragged him outside and down the stairs.

"No, Nathan! You need to calm the hell down."

"Fuck this!" Nathan muttered as he tried to walk pass Lucas but Lucas followed his move and blocked his path. "Move, or prepared to get moved."

"No.. there's no way in hell, I'm letting you back in there like this. You need to calm the fuck down!" Lucas ordered.

"How am I supposed to be calm with this punk.."

"His name's Julian."

"I know all about Julia .. what the hell is he doing proposing to Haley? And why the hell does he think that my baby is his!"

"I don't know Nathan but you have to let Haley deal with this."

"No, I need some fucking answers!"

Lucas blocked his path again but Nathan decided to go anyway, which led Lucas to tackle him to the ground.

"Are you fucking crazy!?" Nathan wrestled Lucas off of him. "In case you haven't forgotten, I got thrown out a window 6 months ago." Nathan got up and dusted himself off.

"Look, I'm sorry about that but you need to calm down." Lucas got up. "You gotta get through me and if we both end up blue bloody, then so be it."

"Luke."

"Nathan!" Lucas warned. "You may think you know Haley but there's 5 years of her life that you missed out on .. you have no idea what's she's been through, you need to let her deal with this. I'm sure she has a good explanation for this."

"Lucas, I swear." Nathan gritted through his teeth.

"Nathan, don't do this. All this stress isn't good for Haley and the baby, let me figure out what's going on with Haley and Julian." Lucas tried to calm Nathan down. "You just spent this past morning trying to convince me that you're not as big of an ass as I think you are, so unless you want to prove me right, walk away Nathan."

Nathan balled his fists together and took a deep breath, _Fucking Saint Lucas_. Turning on his heal, he kept his mouth shut and started walking down the street. Lucas watched him walk away. He shook his head, it didn't surprise him one bit how Nathan reacted. Over the past five years, Lucas still followed his career on ESPN and caught the occasional article or two on him in the entertainment magazines while he would wait to pay for his groceries. He didn't care how hot his new girlfriend was or how People magazine was dubbing them the next Hollywood "it" couple, Nathan was still clearly in love with Haley.

Nathan walked a couple of yards away and started mumble curses to himself. The thought of having Haley carrying another man's baby was enough to drive him over the edge. His phone was ringing and saw Clay calling him but he ignored it as he tried to comprehend everything that happened five minutes ago.

. . . . .

"Haley?" Julian questioned, still on one knee.

"Oh Julian, I'm so sorry." Haley mumbled and then turned from him and put her hands on the counter for support.

"Who was that guy Lucas was with?" Julian asked, standing up.

"I never meant for you to find out like this." Haley said softly, shaking her head.

"Haley, please tell me what's going on?"

"Julian, yes.. I am pregnant but.. but you're not the father." Haley turned to him with tears in her eyes.

"That's impossible.. you .. you haven't been seeing anyone since me." Julian reasoned. "I mean last month.. you and I .."

"Last month, you were drunk and I was .. I was lonely." Haley looked away. A month ago, they all hung out at Tric and Julian was going through a difficult time. One of his scripts didn't fall through and Haley knew how hard he'd been working to get his career in entertainment started but so far, the only thing he's been able to produce are a couple of short skits and commercials. It didn't help that Julian has a big wig studio exec as a father, a father who sees more of his son's faults than his successes. She knew that broken record well.

That evening ended up with her taking care of a drunk Julian and her wallowing in her own self pity and problems. On top of that, the ghost of Nathan's sudden reappearance and disappearance still haunted her. In her moment of weakness, she faltered and for one night, she shared a bed with Julian, letting him believe that there was still something there.

The next morning she felt sick, literally. She did her walk of shame out of Julian's apartment. She headed straight back to her house, where as soon as she closed the door, she raced to the bathroom and threw up. She thought it was the previous night's activities that made her feel ill but she felt something was off for a while now. And so it was later on that day after going to the hospital where she found out. Haley James was 8 weeks pregnant_._

"But that night meant something Haley, don't try to cheapen it!" Julian interrupted her thoughts

Haley shook her head. He wasn't getting the picture and she knew what she was going to say was going to rip him in two.

"Julian, I'm three months along. The size of the fetus in the pictures, it's impossible that the baby was conceived a month ago." Haley tried to stay as calm possible but she could already see the pain and anger in his eyes. It only made her feel worse.

Julian felt like he was punched in the gut. He couldn't breath. "What? You.. you're three months? That's.. that's impossible!" Julian mumbled.

"But.. you.. you and I .. we … we were together!?" Julian tried to make sense of it.

Haley put her head down. "I'm sorry but I was already pregnant at the time. I .. I just didn't know it until the next day when I went to the hospital."

"Wait!" Julian spit out. "That guy Lucas was with!"

"He's not some guy Julian. He's .. he's Lucas' brother."

"Brother?" Julian muttered and Haley flinched. Nathan was a huge part of her and Lucas' life, was being the operative word but Julian didn't know that. Julian knew Lucas had some half brother but Lucas only mentioned him in passing. None of their other friends mentioned him, including Haley. He figured it was a sore subject and that the two didn't even know each other. He was clearly wrong.

"Is he.. don't tell me.." Julian shook his head, he couldn't even form the words. The idea of Haley carrying some other guys baby was making him sick. "Haley, what the hell is going on?!" Julian's voice boomed and Haley flinched from her spot.

"Julian!" Lucas called out.

"Luke, what the hell is going on man?" Julian turned to the person he once shared a dorm room with at UNC, some one he considered a dear and close friend, something Julian was starting to reconsider. "And what the hell is Haley saying, that guy is your brother?"

"His name is Nathan.. Nathan Scott." Haley finally spoke up.

The name sounded familiar to Julian.

"And I'm sorry Julian but.. he's.. he's the father." Lucas added.

"WHAT?!" Julian couldn't believe any of this. He couldn't even look at Haley. He turned to Lucas. "So we break up and you pimp Haley out to some estranged brother you barely said two words about this whole time I've known you!"

Lucas felt terrible but for Julian's sake as well as Haley's, Lucas knew he had to tell the truth. He glanced back at Haley but she looked like she was barely holding it in together. He'd overheard the tale end of their conversation and didn't know if he was relieved to know that Haley wasn't lying to Nathan about being the father.

"Nathan's the father, yes and he is my brother.. half-brother." Lucas tried to talk calmly. "He's from Tree Hill too, he left after high school.. he and Haley.. they.. they had a relationship. It was umm.. pretty serious."

Julian gritted his teeth and then looked back and forth between Haley and Lucas and then finally landing back on Haley, the gears in his mind turning.

"You're not Hilary." Julian finally mumbled after a tension filled minute. Haley and Lucas looked at each other curiously.

"You're not Hilary." Julian repeated and then turned to Lucas. "You're Chad.. and you're not Hilary." Julian went back to Haley as he recounted the character names from Lucas' first novel. Lucas had always said that the book was inspired by real life events.

"I know it's been a while since I read your novel Luke but oh God, I'm such a fool." Julian didn't know to laugh or cry.

"This whole time, I thought Haley was Hilary." He chuckled, his eyes getting a little watery. Hilary, the blond artistic girl who Chad secretly crushed on, Julian just assumed it was Haley. He figured how could a guy be best friends with such an amazing girl like Haley and not catch feelings. Plus their names were similar. But the truth was staring at him the whole time.

"You're Joy." He looked over to Haley, his laughter dying down. "I'm such an idiot."

"You're not an idiot." Haley tried to speak up.

"Oh but aren't I?" Julian asked. "I mean this whole time I've known you.. you were there but you really weren't, were you? There was always this part of you that you always closed off. I mean according to the book James and Joy got married at the end of their junior year of high school and had a baby by graduation while Joy followed James to college where he fulfilled his dream of playing college ball.." Julian recounted events from Lucas' novel. He shook his head and turned to Lucas. "You forgot to leave out the part where he ends up playing for the Sonics and the baby happened much later!" Julian had finally put the pieces together. He wasn't a big sports fan but he'd heard of Nathan Scott, the NBA star who managed to bounce back after a paralyzing accident. He just never thought that in a million years that Nathan Scott and Lucas Scott were actually related.

"Yes I based the book off my life and the character of Joy and James were based off Haley and Nathan but it was a fiction.. I made the ending up." Lucas tried to clarify.

Julian threw his hands in the air. "I can't.. I can't even look at you two. You guys have been lying to me this whole time!"

"We didn't lie Julian." Haley clarified.

"No you just omitted the truth." Julian countered back. "Same shit!"

"Nathan has always been a sore topic that's why we never discussed him. He cut us out of his life, why would we want to talk about him?"

"Yet now he's back in town and Haley's pregnant?" Julian shook his head, the thought of another man fathering Haley's baby was making him lose it. "In the book, Joy and James were _so in love_." He mocked. "Did you make that up too?" He asked Lucas but Luke couldn't reply back. "Almost 5 years Luke, ever since we met in freshmen orientation and you never once mentioned that your brother was Nathan Scott! I knew you had a brother but you made it seem like you didn't even know him!" Julian exclaimed and turned from Lucas to Haley. "The whole time we were going out you told me about him but now it's all making sense." Julian took a deep breath and clenched his fist. "Six months ago Nathan Scott was thrown out of a window, six months ago you broke up with me and now you're the mother of his child." Julian stared Haley down, his once blue and warm eyes were suddenly cold and icy. "Tell me, how long have you been fucking him behind my back!"

"Julian, I wasn't.." Haley choked out.

"Don't bother!" Julian took a step back and threw his hands up. He had enough of this. He couldn't deal with it anymore. "I don't .. I don't even know you.. either of you!" Julian stormed out of the house, slamming the door hard as he left.

Haley winced from her spot and Lucas did the only thing he could do, he hugged.

"Oh God Luke, what have I done?"

"Shh.. it's okay Haley.. just give Julian some time."

"Everything is such a mess and Nathan.. why.. why is he even here?" Haley knew that Nathan would eventually show up, she just didn't think it would be this soon.

"I'm not his biggest fan Hales." Lucas sighed. "But he says he wants to be part of this baby's life."

Haley suddenly pulled back. "Oh God, I need to see him. I need to explain to him."

"That is my nephew or niece in there, right?" Lucas needed to double check.

"Yes Luke, as much as sometimes I wish it wasn't. You're this baby's biological uncle."

Lucas sighed a breath of relief. If Julian was freaking out, he could only imagine how Nathan was handling things.

"But Hales, is what Julian said true?"

"Luke, I told you, the last time I saw Nathan before yesterday was that night."

"No, not that." Lucas shook his head. "I didn't think of it before but Julian had a point, 6 months ago Nathan had his accident and I know you visited him in the hospital. Nathan told me."

Haley's eyes went wide and then nodded, no point in hiding the truth. "I.. I just wanted to see if he was okay and he was and so I left. I was only there for 2-3 minutes tops." Haley tried to downplay it.

"And 6 months ago, you broke up with Julian."

"So?" Haley took a step back, shifting uncomfortably.

"Haley, I hate to ask but did you break up with Julian because of Nathan?" Lucas narrowed his eyes at her.

. . . . .

_6 months ago (The night of Nathan's accident)_

_Nathan and Clay walked through the streets of New York. Nathan kept glancing up to look at the names of the bar. Finally, he found it and motioned Clay to join him inside. Nathan had been nervous, he wasn't sure why he was here. Nathan knew that he probably didn't want to see him but still. He was his brother and he was proud of him. Only a few years after publishing his first novel, Lucas had already gone out and wrote his second. The place was a little packed and Nathan looked around to see if his brother was here. _

"_I'm going to grab us some drinks." Clay said as he made his way to the crowded bar. _

_Nathan walked further into the place and noticed that it extended out even further in the back. He made his way through the crowd and stopped at the foot of the entrance to a private party room. There, he saw Lucas in a suit talking to a couple of people he didn't recognize. He smiled, genuinely happy for his brother. He debated if he should go in but that was when he saw her. Off to Lucas' side, in one of the booths, he saw Haley. _

_She had on a black dress and her hair was drawn up. She looked absolutely stunning and he felt his heart leap out of his chest. He had no idea she would be here. He knew Lucas would be here and of course his mind drifted back to Haley but he still didn't think she would actually be here. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered. His feet started carrying him forward, he was so drawn to her. But then a big dark man stepped out in front of him._

"_I'm sorry sir, private party." The man stated._

"_Excuse me?" Nathan tore his eyes from Haley to him._

"_This is a private party for Straus publishing, are you on the guest list?" The man reached over to a nearby podium and pulled out a guest list._

_It was then that Nathan's eyes went back to Haley and saw _him. _He had this stupid goofy grin on his face and a stupid French barrette on his head that made Nathan want to grab the hat and beat him silly with it. "Julian", he muttered to himself. He remembered him well, he was there in Lucas' book signing a few years ago and it seemed he stuck around. He placed his arm around Haley and pulled her close to him and pressed his lips on her temples. Lucas joined them a second later and the three started joking and laughing, all the while Haley was locked in _his arms_, in _his embrace_. Nathan clenched his fist, anger and jealousy couldn't even begin to describe how he felt at the moment. It seemed that this Julian punk had truly replaced him in their lives. _

_The bouncer looked up from the guest list and saw that Nathan had gone. Nathan raced back to the front and spotted Clay. _

_"Let's go." Nathan stated as he brushed past Clay and headed straight for the door. Clay looked at him perplexed and a little annoyed. He just ordered his drink._

_"Dude, we just got here." Clay complained._

_Nathan glanced at a sign nearby the indicating a private party at the back room of the bar, reserved for Straus Publishing. "Fine, then you stay." Nathan kept walking._

_Clay sighed and took a big gulp of his drink before placing it back on the bar and running after Nathan. _

_"Wait, Nate.. where you going?"_

_"Anywhere but there." Nathan stated and kept walking. _

_"Fine, so where to?" Clay asked as he caught up with him._

_Nathan walked quickly for another two blocks before stopping in front of another bar. _

_"This'll do." Nathan smirked as he entered the place._

. . . . . .

Nathan made it back to his hotel room. He was so confused and angry. Where the hell was this Julian punk get off asking Haley to marry him? And why the hell did he think this baby was his. The thought of it was making him lose it. There was no way, why else would Haley go through the trouble of telling him herself. This had to be a misunderstanding, a big sick misunderstanding.

He needed to cool down and he also knew he needed to stretch after playing ball this morning. So he stripped off his clothes and stepped in the shower, still feeling sticky from playing this morning. He needed to calm down because lord knows the last time he saw Haley and him together, he got thrown out of a window. Nathan was really losing it and he had no one else to blame but himself. He was the one that got lazy and careless and lost his chances at playing Duke. It was his fault he broke up with Haley and cut her and his friends off. It was his fault that he let his anger and jealousy get the best of him and it nearly cost him his career and ability to walk. It was his fault that he couldn't stay away from Haley and ended up sleeping with her. After that he realized what a huge mess of his life he's made and tried to refocus everything back on basketball. But there was still something off and then he found out Haley is pregnant with his child, or so he thought. He wasn't so sure but one thing was for sure, this was all his fault. Nathan felt overwhelmed once again, like he was drowning in it all.

He got out of the steamy shower but it did little to calm him down. He started to dry himself when he heard a knock on the door. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he headed to the door.

"Haley?" Nathan looked at her curiously.

Haley felt her heart beat a mile a minute. She was able to get to Nathan's hotel from Lucas, not surprised since there was only one five star hotel in town. But what she didn't expect was to find him half naked, a towel hung lower around his trim waist, his chest and abs glistening.

For a second, Nathan let himself enjoy the fact that Haley was checking him out but only for a second. There were still more pressing matters to deal with. Haley was able to tear her eyes away from his torso to look at his face, his angry, jealous face that made him look even hotter. She really did hate how handsome and built he was and how her pregnancy was doing a number on her hormones.

"It's your's." She mumbled. "What you saw earlier was a misunderstanding on Julian's part." She added.

Nathan felt relieved but didn't show it. He still wasn't sure if she was telling the truth but figured it would be better to discuss it inside than in the hallway. He stepped aside and Haley walked in. She stepped into the hotel room, the bathroom to her immediate right which led to a spacious room. Nathan walked in front of her and motioned for her to sit down, which she did on the edge of the bed.

"I didn't travel across the continent to tell you a lie Nathan. When Julian and I were together last month, I was already pregnant but didn't know it at the time. And I hadn't been with anyone else except you and the last time before that was way before that." She saw Nathan relax a little bit, obviously pleased with her response.

The thought of her sleeping with another guy had his stomach in knots but he let that go for now. For now, he would concentrate on his baby, their baby.

"Ok." Nathan nodded. "There are things we need to talk about Haley."

"I know." Haley agreed. "I know you want to be part of my baby's life and I .. I won't stop you."

"Our baby." He clarified with a slight grin on his face. "And you're right, I do want to be a part of our baby's life but even though you're carrying him, WE are pregnant. I want to be part of the pregnancy too. I know our past complicates things but I want to make things work."

Haley nodded in agreement, Nathan had a point and they needed to stop focusing on them and onto their baby. At the end of the day, that's what mattered.

"So now you just assume it's a boy?" She added a second later, feeling less tension in the room. If she had to deal with Nathan, she needed to learn how to act comfortably around him. She hated how he kept her on edge.

"Of course." Nathan said confidently, as he went to his suit case and pulled out a pair of boxers. His back was towards Haley and she was shocked when he pulled his boxers up and quickly tossing the towel aside.

"Nathan!" Haley looked away and tried to cover her eyes but that didn't mean she didn't get a good look at his firm ass.

Nathan chuckled to himself. "What? It's nothing you haven't seen before."

"Doesn't mean I want to see it again?!" She replied back.

"Yeah, that's why you were practically drooling when I opened the door." He teased as he turned back around and found her shooting daggers at him.

"Relax, Haley. I was just kidding." He tried to keep things light. He felt like they were actually getting somewhere a minute ago.

"Stop being an ass." She replied.

"Fine." He put his hands up in mock surrender. Then he sat down on the floor and started to stretch.

"What.. what're you doing?" Haley felt herself growing hot as Nathan was basically flexing for her.

"A combination of yoga and stretching, it's something my physical therapist wants me to do regularly, cuz of my back."

"Oh of course." Haley replied, the room feeling warmer.

Nathan tried to hide his smirk, he could just wait for Haley to leave before he did his stretches but watching her squirm was too much fun, not to mention hot. Ever since she came back to his life, he felt like he was walking on egg shells. He needed to regain some sort of control when it came to Haley James. Still, he needed to take the opportunity of her not yelling at him to get down to business. He needed to focus on his child, their child.

"I know my basketball schedule keeps me busy but I can let you know my schedule and I'll try to be back here as often as I can. I don't expect you to come to Seattle and frankly, I wouldn't want you and the baby traveling anyways."

"Umm.. thanks. Yeah I guess that can work. We can work out the schedules for the doctor's appointment, so you can be there. I hear that as early as next month, we can find out the sex."

Nathan was about to speak when he heard his phone vibrating so he got up and reached for his cell phone. He saw that Clay left him a couple of text messages and voicemails.

"It's a boy, trust me on that. Wait hold on for a second, I can get my agent to get me my upcoming schedule." Nathan clicked answer on his phone. "Hello Clay.. I was busy.. wait.. what? How did she find out?... Why the hell did you tell you're secretary where we are?.. What?! Are you serious?...Now?!.. Fuck!"

Haley watched Nathan curiously. Something was going on but she wasn't sure what.

Nathan put his phone down and looked at Haley. "You have to go now."

"What?" She was confused.

"Haley, I'm sorry but we'll talk later but you need to go now. He grabbed her arm and motioned her up.

"Nathan, what the hell is going on?"

"I'm sorry but I don't have time to explain."

"Nathan wait!" Haley pulled herself out of Nathan's grasp and turned to face him. Suddenly they heard the door knob jiggle and then heard the door swing open.

"Honey, I'm home!" A brunette sing-songed as she entered the room. The young woman looked at Haley curiously then her eyes landed back to Nathan, soaking in the fact that he was half naked.

"Who's this?" She asked curiously.

"The masseuse was just leaving." Nathan stated.

Haley's mouth dropped as she turned to face Nathan.

"Oh that's great, can you come back? I could use a massage, flying coach can do that to you. And oh, do you guys also do manicures?"

Haley stared back at the young woman, her mouth still hanging.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm so rude, I guess you don't recognize me, that's okay." She smiled and tried to be polite. She stuck out her hand, "I'm Alex by the way.. Alex Dupre… Nathan's girlfriend."

To Be Continued . . . .


	6. Truth Bitter Truth

The Search for Something More

Chapter 6 – Truth, Bitter Truth

Thank you all for the reviews. I know Alex may have come as a surprise but then again Lucas did allude to it. I did find it funny how some people thought Nathan was lying about Alex but from Lucas' conversation with Nathan, you can see that Alex was public knowledge. And since this storyline is based off season 7, I thought it was fitting to bring Alex into this story. Now this chapter will clear up a few things, that's all I have to say about that lol. I haven't forgotten about Dan or Renee, they'll be coming back, maybe in the next chapter or two. I'm glad you guys like Clay and Julian. I never wanted to write Haley as pining away for Nathan all this time and being single. As the flashbacks has shown, Nathan and Haley, during their time apart, had their own different lives. Nor did I want to write Nathan as the saint he is on the show currently. I actually like Nathan as an ass because when he's down, it's just that much better when he picks himself up. I've focused a lot on Nathan's past but probably next chapter or two I'll focus in more on Haley.

I'm sorry for the delay in updating but I've come off vacation, am suffering from allergies, really busy at work and have a million things going on. Believe me, I just want to sit home and write because there's a lot of story to tell but I just don't have the time! The next should hopefully be up sooner rather than later, your words motivate me, so please review!!

. . . . . .

Hearing footsteps approaching her door, Haley tried her best to wipe her teary eyes but it was no use.

"I was worried when I didn't hear from you after this morning." Lucas called out from the hallway, letting Haley know that he was approaching. When he opened the door, his face fell when he saw her sitting on her bed, her eyes red and puffy and clutching onto Mr. Waffles, which by the way was never a good sign.

"Is this bed taken?" Lucas asked as he lied on the bed next to Haley, stretching his arm, Haley readily accepted the invitation and leaned into his chest.

"You know, just this once, I deserve a big fat _I told you so_."

"Well, you won't get it from me."

Haley laughed slightly. "What happened?" Lucas prodded.

"Exactly what you told me was gonna happen. I started believing that he wasn't terrible, and he proved me wrong. Once again, the smart girl is really stupid."

Lucas pulled back and wiped her tears. "Hey,. You are not stupid."

"Everything's just blown up in my face. I led Julian on and now Nathan is in town and he brought his _girlfriend_." Even saying it sounded bitter to Haley. "God, you should've seen her, so bubbly and pretty and tanned.." As soon as she mentioned her name and that she was Nathan's girlfriend, she bolted as fast as she could.

"Wait, Alex DuPree is in town?"

"You know her?"

"She was in a bunch of indie films last year.." Lucas pointed out but Haley still looked lost. "She made it onto People's Top 25 under 25." Lucas added and Haley gave him a freaked out look. "Don't look at me like that, you know how Lindsey likes to read those things."

"Great, so not only is he dating a model, he's dating an actress as well." Haley huffed out.

"You didn't know she was going out with Nathan?" Lucas asked a little surprised.

"_NO_, obviously I did not, thanks for the heads up best friend." Haley said sarcastically.

"I thought you knew." Lucas muttered.

"You know I don't pay attention to that stuff." During her first year of college, it was already bad enough to see him on the sports news page. If she had dated anyone else, it would've been easy to avoid Nathan but with his rise to the NBA, it wasn't the case. Haley learned to avoid it all together, it always made her stomach churn when she heard stories of him partying and so on. She didn't need that. So every time she heard or saw anything related to Nathan, she tried to tune it out.

Lucas chuckled, "So are you upset that he's dating someone?"

"What? No..."

"Hales, look at me." Lucas straightened up. "Do you still have feelings for Nathan?"

"No of course not .. I mean. .do I care for him, well yeah. I mean he was a big part of my life so it makes sense that I feel weirded out seeing his new girlfriend, right. Oh God please tell me I'm right."

Lucas chuckled. "Yes Hales, it's perfectly normal. I mean every time I hear about Brooke and whoever she's with, I'm still a little weirded out by it too. I guess it's normal, but are you sure Hales? You don't want something more from Nathan?"

"No, I don't." Haley stated.

"I know that you told me that you breaking up with Julian had nothing to do with Nathan but.."

"Look, it's over between Nathan and I." Haley cut him off. "What happened three months ago was a moment of weakness." Haley stated. "Plus he has a girlfriend, and if he's the one to chase around after girls when he's already in a relationship then eww, no thanks. He's a bigger dog than I thought he was." Haley shook her head.

"Oh God, now I'm the other woman, the one you hear about in the tabloids, I'm a home wrecker!!" Haley rambled. "That's why he was so quick to kick me out of his hotel room.. he called me the freaking masseuse, which is code for side piece!" She couldn't believe what he did to her.

Lucas couldn't help but chuckle. "I think you're over reacting a little bit. And according to Access Hollywood, they've been dating for a like a month or two now, so don't worry about it." Lucas stated.

"Okay Ryan Seacrest, you need to lay off the E! Network." Haley felt slightly better but still. They may have only been dating recently but that didn't mean that something didn't happen before. Haley sighed and leaned back into Lucas' chest, "What am I going to do Luke?"

"Haley, whatever happens between Nathan and his girlfriend, that's up to him. I'm not his biggest fan either but I at least have to respect his decision to be a part of his child's life."

"You're right, I know. I am glad that he does want to be a part of this pregnancy but I'm just worried, worried how our past won't screw up our baby's future. Now he has this girlfriend, I don't know, everything is already screwed up."

"I know." Lucas said softly. He wondered about the same thing as well. He knew there was still some unresolved feelings between Haley and Nathan and now their forced into a situation that ties them for life. He wished he had the answers but one thing was for sure. One way or another, it's only going to get messy.

. . . . . .

"You're awfully quiet." Alex commented as she stared out of the windows of the limo they were in.

"I'm fine." Nathan muttered, staring out of the window from his side of the limo.

"You sure, something seems off." Alex turned to face him.

"It's nothing.. just dealing with some family stuff."

"Is everything okay?" Alex looked at him curiously.

Nathan turned to face Alex.

"Yeah." He lied.

After Alex introduced herself to Haley earlier, Haley bolted out of the room. Luckily, Clay came charging into the room and distracted Alex and discussed about the charity event they were currently heading to. He wanted to chase after Haley but couldn't. Nathan had to get ready to for a charity function in Atlanta. When he arrived in Tree Hill, he had Clay book him a charter flight so that way he could make the event. He thought he was going to meet Alex there but she surprised him by showing up to Tree Hill. She insisted that it wouldn't look good if they came separately.

Before Alex could ask anything else, the driver slowed down and the throngs of people and cameras indicated that they were already here. The driver stopped the limo and got out and opened the door for Nathan. Nathan stepped out and stuck his hand out so Alex could take it. Gripping her hand with his, he pulled her close to him as the flashes of light started to blind them.

Nathan was tense but he wasn't showing it. He knew he couldn't keep Haley's pregnancy a secret for very long. He could only imagine how Alex and Miranda would react, the press, the team. He couldn't believe how much had changed in just a short time. Everything was closing in around him and he felt trapped. Damn if he did, damn if he don't. He hoped it wouldn't be like that. This was the last thing he expected but nevertheless it was here and he hoped he was making the right calls because lord knows he made some wrong ones.

. . . . .

"_What does that mean?" Nathan asked as he sat back in his living room. "I know I'm not back to my old numbers but it's only been three games since I came back from my accident."_

"_You're doing great Nathan but.."_

"_But what?" Nathan interrupted Clay._

"_My contact on the inside is telling me that the Sonics aren't sure."_

"_What?"_

"_You're a great player Nate and if this accident never happened then you would've been a shoe in for your next contract but.."_

"_But they still think I'm a risk." Nathan shook his head and clenched his fist. _

"_Yes and the fact that you got drunk, picked a fight and ended up being thrown out a window didn't help either. It's about your image as well."_

"_Image?!" Nathan couldn't believe this. "I came back from the brink of paralysis!" _

"_I know that and we're going to use that. I scheduled you bookings, next week, you're going to a local school for disabled children. I got a charity basketball event next month in Chicago and I'm working on getting you into the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons gala in Atlanta in a few months. These are all high profile events that not only paint you in a good light but highlight the fact that you've been there as well."_

"_Fine, I'll go to these events."_

"_Great, that's what I was hoping to hear. But there is one more thing." Clay said carefully._

"_What thing?"_

"_Well all these things are great, I mean go to the events, kill it on the court but me and some of the guys from the agency were talking.."_

"_By guys, you mean Antwon?"_

"_Yes.. but before you shoot the idea down, there's a reason we nicknamed him Skills."_

"_Look, I know what you're going to say and the answer is NO." Nathan stated._

_. . . . . _

_A week later_

_Nathan couldn't believe he was going along with this stupid idea but desperate times called for desperate measures. It was clear to him that basketball was the only thing going on in his life and if he wanted to keep playing, he needed to do whatever it takes. _

"_What's the name of this school again?" Nathan turned to Clay and Skills._

"_The Openheimer School for the Gifted." Clay reminded him from the driver's seat. _

"_That's a mouthful." Nathan stated, repeating the name over in his head so he wouldn't forget._

"_You're telling me dog." Skills added. The three of them were currently in the car on their way to the school where Nathan was going to talk to the disabled children that attended there and would join some of the students in the gym. Nathan was happy to do it of course, after his accident he had a new appreciation and respect for all those disabled. It was the other part that he was not looking forward to._

"_And what's her name again?" Nathan asked._

"_Alex DuPree." Skills stated._

"_Who is she again?" _

"_She was in a bunch of indie films last year.." Clay pointed out but Nathan had a blank face. "She made it onto People's Top 25 under 25." Clay added._

"_Okay, Ryan Seacrest, you need to lay off the E! Network, you know I don't pay attention to those sort of things." Nathan pointed out with a freaked out look._

"_Don't look at me like that, you know I have to keep up with today's pop culture."_

"_Great, so you're setting me up with an actress." Nathan huffed out._

"_Not only an actress but a banging actress, aint that right Clay?" Skills tapped Clay's shoulder._

"_What's he talking about?" Nathan asked. "Oh don't tell me you slept with her? Great, on top of this, you gave me your left overs._

"_Well when you say it like that.." Clay joked. "But listen me and Alex are cool. I'm surprised you didn't see her. She was at that party I threw for you back in Charlotte two weeks ago."_

_Nathan shifted uncomfortably from his seat. "No, I didn't." He mumbled._

"_That's right, you were too drunk and passed out early." Clay teased Nathan. "Unlike you, I actually got some action that night." _

_Images of going to Tree Hill flooded his mind, of Haley, of sneaking up to her room, of him on top of her while he rocked his hips in and out.. Nathan shook his head, trying to put away those thoughts. Was it only a month ago he was with her? It felt like it was last night. . He still felt bad about just leaving a note and bailing on her but who was he kidding. In his moment of weakness, they both had too much to drink that night and he took advantage of her. She had her life, he had his. From what he saw, she was happy and more than anything that's what he wanted for her. She deserved better than Nathan Scott, he told himself._

"_Wait, Nate has that far away look in his eyes." Skills piped in. "Come on dog, what's her name?"_

"_Yeah, Nate, care to share?" Clay added._

"_Look, back to Alex." Nathan said annoyed and Clay and Skills knew not to piss him off. They were already close to the school and needed to have Nathan on his best behavior._

"_So how does you sleeping with Alex end up with me now dating her?" Nathan inquired._

"_Actually, I didn't sleep with her, I slept with her agent Miranda." Clay stated._

"_She's one tough British bull dog." Skills added._

"_Anyways, after the whole awkward morning after, we exchanged numbers and we've kept in touch. Alex is a star on the rise, but she's had image problems of her own as well."_

"_In other words, she gets her freak on in the clubs." Skills added once more. "Look Nate, I worked things out with Miranda, you and Alex are gonna meet today in front of the kids, tonight you're going to go to dinner, we'll have one or two photographers around to catch some long distance shots of you two." _

"_The press will eat it up." Clay added. "She'll end up showing up to the games, boost some ticket sales, give the team free press and next thing you know, the Sonics will be begging for you to resign."_

"_You guys are crazy." Nathan shook his head. "There's no way I can go along with this."_

_Clay and Skills looked at each other then turned back to Nathan. "Like we said Nate, you're game is good but you're still a risk for injury, the team wants more. It's either this or no ball." Skill stated._

"_You don't know that." Nathan affirmed._

"_You're right Nate, we don't. We have no clue how management will go but the only thing we can do is try our best.. on and off the court, so what do you say Nathan? You worked hard to make it into the NBA and even harder after the accident. This is it man." Clay added._

_Nathan stared down as thoughts of Haley once again filled his mind but like always he needed to block them out, block her out. In giving her up, he gave everything up except basketball. It was the only thing he had left. _

"_This better work." Nathan gritted his teeth. _

_. . . . ._

Haley woke up feeling a little bit better than last night. Lucas stayed for a little bit and the two ended up ordering in before Lucas left and Haley went back to sleep.

Haley grabbed her cell phone and dialed Julian's number. She still felt completely horrible about how everything turned out yesterday. She wasn't surprised when he didn't pick up.

"Hey Julian, it's me. Look, I'm really sorry about yesterday. I never meant for you to find out like that. I know we've been over for a while now and I'm sorry if I led you on but you have to believe me that, that night with Nathan was just a one night thing. I wasn't seeing him this whole time and certainly when we were together. I know that might not mean anything to you right now but it's the truth. Please call me back when you get this."

Haley sighed and hung up the phone. She went to the bathroom and washed her face. She still had a little bit of morning sickness but it wasn't as bad this morning. Grabbing a box of cereal, some milk and a bowl, she made her way to the tables and started eating. She turned on the television and started to watch some of the morning news.

"_And last night, the annual Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons gala was held in Atlanta this year. This annual charity event raises awareness in the field of orthopedics as well as much needed research money. Last year's event drew in over $5 million in donations and this year looks to top that. But the event didn't just draw in doctors and scientists but Hollywood as well. Reporting from Atlanta we turn over to our entertainment correspondent Maria Menounos."_

Haley continued to eat her cereal as she watched the morning news.

"_Hello everyone, I'm Maria Menounos coming from Atlanta, Georgia where Hollywood has come out in support for the Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. Some of the biggest stars to come out where philanthropists Brad and Angelina, Demi and Aston and what insider's are calling the new it couple, Nathan Scott and Alex DuPree. I caught up with Nathan and Alex on the red carpet."_

_The next clip showed Maria on the red carpet with Nathan next to her._

"_I'm very happy to be here and support the Academy." Nathan spoke to the cameras. "If it wasn't for the hard working and dedicated men and women of the Academy, I wouldn't be standing here right now."_

"_That's right, only what 6 months ago, you had an accident and lost feelings to both legs."_

"_Yes, it was pretty scary there for a moment, there was a point that I thought I wouldn't walk again, let alone play basketball but after some surgery, physical therapy and a lot of hard work, I've been able to come through." _

"_Now would the gorgeous woman next to you the inspiration for your recovery." Maria asked as the camera panned to Alex. _

_Alex laughed into the microphone, "I'd love to say that it was me but Nathan and I met after the accident. We actually met while we were both doing a community out reach program at the Openheimer School for the Gifted in Seattle." Alex leaned up to kiss Nathan's cheeks._

Haley turned off the television and dropped her spoon. She suddenly wasn't very hungry anymore and in fact, she thought her morning sickness had returned. She heard a knock on the door and she went to the front to see who it was.

Looking through the peep hole, she saw Nathan standing there. _Great, _she thought to herself. She really couldn't shake Nathan Scott. Reluctantly though, she opened the door.

"So you're back." Haley crossed her arms and Nathan gave her a curious look.

"Just saw you on the news.. Atlanta." Haley added.

"Oh. I took a red eye back to Tree Hill." Nathan's face fell. "About Alex."

"What? She wants a massage too?" Haley replied sarcastically.

"Look, I'm sorry too about Alex." He needed to come straight about her.

"Nathan, I don't want to hear it." Haley shook her head. "I'm sure you two have enough to deal with, with saving the world and all." Haley said sarcastically.

"Haley, the thing with Alex is.."

"I have a doctor's appointment today." She cut him. She really didn't want to hear him talking about his _girlfriend._

"What?"

"Look, you said you wanted to be a part of our child's life and you have a right to be there."

"Okay thank you but."

"Nathan, I said it's fine. Please I got some things I need to do this morning. Now give me your phone."

"What for?" He asked pulling his cell phone out.

She took it from him and she tried not to flinch at the touch of him. She dialed her number on it and ended the call quickly.

"That's my number, I'll send you a text message of the address and time."

"I can pick you up."

"No, it's okay." She gave him a polite smile. Nathan wanted to explain everything about Alex to her but Haley was being stubborn. He didn't want her to think that him and Alex were together like that.

"Ok but.."

"Nathan," she cut him off. "Please, however you want to deal with this pregnancy and her is up to you. I have no part in it."

"Haley its not about that.. well yes it is but."

"You haven't told her yet have you?"

"No one knows except my agent. We don't want to get it leaked out in the press."

Haley nodded. With Nathan in the NBA, she was worried about this sort of thing. "If the press does find out?"

"I'm not going to lie Haley, they could be pretty vicious but I'll try my best to protect you from that. Like I said no one knows on my end except Clay."

Haley nodded. "I was thinking about that too, if the press finds out. Julian knows the truth but he's a good man, plus his family's into that whole Hollywood scene, he understands, he won't.. he won't tell anyone…I don't want that attention Nathan."

"Of course, I don't want you to go through that either."

"Good, I'm glad we're on the same page because I've thought of something.. to make sure the press don't bother me."

"What?"

"If anyone finds out and it gets leaked to the press, I can say it's Lucas'."

"OH HELL NO!" Nathan's voice boomed. First Julian, now Lucas. "I'm the father of your baby.. no one else!"

"But we just agreed that we don't want the press finding out."

"Yeah and how do you think people will react when they realize it's my baby?"

"That's just it, no one will care if the baby is Lucas'!"

"And have you spoke with Lucas about this brilliant idea of your's?"

"No, I was just thinking… I mean it's a crazy idea I know, but I don't know what to do. I can't keep this a secret any longer and people will start asking and you're the one that has press following you around!"

"No, Hales.. I'm tired of the lies!" Nathan said frustrated. "I'm tired of it all! Alex and I aren't together. I've been trying to tell you that!"

"But I saw you on TV?" Haley was so confused.

"Exactly, that was a marketing ploy our agents talked us into."

"It.. it was an act?" Haley couldn't believe it. How was it that Nathan Scott could pull the rug from underneath her all over again?

"It's why I tried to get you out of the room and lied to her that you were the masseuse. If she knew you were pregnant, it would ruin the plan and she could out us in the press to make her look like the victim and then all hell would've broken loose.. I .. I wish I hadn't agreed to it." Nathan sighed. "I know I made some huge mistakes, mistakes that I regret and that I wish I could take back, you being on top of that list Haley. But I won't… I won't let that happen again!" Nathan stated firmly. "Alex and I aren't together and I'm going to put an end to this charade."

"I.. I can't believe this." Haley shook her head. "It was all an act?" Haley said softly.

"Despite my comeback, the Sonics haven't resigned me yet."

"Oh." Haley's mouth formed an "o". Of course it was about basketball. "And so Alex was brought in to sweeten the pot?" Haley already knew the answer.

"Yes, but."

"But what? It was an act, you just said so yourself…so you can get your contract." Haley shook her head. "I mean, I always knew that basketball was important to you.. I just never thought that.."

"That I'd what?"

"That you'd lie like this." Haley looked at him with disappointed eyes. "I never thought you'd go that far. The Nathan I knew would never do that but then over the years I've come to realize that maybe I don't know you." Haley shook her head. "Maybe I just built up this idea of you in my head, maybe I was wrong. The Nathan Scott I knew wouldn't lie about something like that to advance his career."

"It was my agent's idea." Nathan said frustrated. "And you're the one who just suggested to lie to everyone and name Lucas the father!" Nathan countered.

"First of all that was just an idea!" Haley countered. "Second.." Haley grew heated. "I was looking out for my HEALTH and my well being and that of MY BABY.. all you ever cared about has been and always will be your precious basketball!!!"

Her hormones and anger getting the best of her, Haley pushed him out and slammed the door in his face.

To Be Continued . . . .


	7. All These Things That I’ve Done

The Search for Something More

Chapter 7 – All These Things That I've Done

Thank you all for the reviews, I'm glad you are enjoying the story but did see a drop of readership. I hope I haven't lost anyone! I really like how this chapter ended up and I hope you will like it too. I do what to make a comment that a few chapters back Lucas told Nathan that he didn't know what Haley has been through over the past few years and this chapter will she some light into that. I'd like to say more but I don't want to give anything away. Again I am grateful for the feedback and hope you guys keep them coming.

. . . . .

"Coming!" Clay put on a shirt and headed towards the door of his suite. Opening it up, he found a man about the same height as he with dark hair wearing a suit. He looked like he seen him before but couldn't remember who he was.

"Can I help you?" Clay asked curiously.

"Yes." He walked right by Clay and into the room. "I'm looking for my son." Dan walked further inside.

"And you must be Dan Scott." Clay stretched out his hand.

"And you're the idiot who got my son into the NBA when he wasn't ready." Dan bit back, not bothering to shake his hand. "I know who you are." Dan looked around the room and found no trace of Nathan there.

"Nice to meet you too." Clay mumbled.

"Where's my son?" Dan asked.

"Umm.. in case you haven't heard, you're son is in Atlanta for a charity event." Clay replied.

"That was last night and I know Nathan arrived early this morning."

"I'm his agent, I assure you that he's.."

"You can stop covering for him. I know he's in town."

"Really?" Clay knew that Nathan had daddy issues, now he understood why. This guy was an ass and no way was Clay was telling Dan where Nathan was.

"Look kid, I'm the mayor of this town and let's just say.. I have eyes and ears everywhere."

"Well, I'm sorry but I can't help you. In fact, if you know where Nathan is, please tell him to call me cuz I'm looking for him too."

"Fine, you don't want to tell me." Dan passed by Clay and out the door. "It's a small town, I'll find him with or with out your help."

Clay closed the door behind him and sighed. Clay was telling the truth about one thing, he actually didn't know where Nathan took off too but he had a pretty guess as to where he was.

Just then his phone started vibrating and he looked at the caller id and was about to let the call go to voice mail but she'd been calling all morning long. He knew he couldn't avoid her forever.

"Hey, good morning!" Clay tried to sound upbeat and chipper.

"Don't _good morning_ me." Miranda bit back in her British accent, something Clay found rather annoying but sexy nevertheless.

"Where the hell is Nathan?"

"Isn't he with you and Alex?" Clay said innocently.

"Don't play dumb with me. Nathan left the party early and we haven't seen him since. We were supposed to do brunch with producers who are interested in Alex."

"I don't recall brunch being on the schedule." Clay replied.

"It was a last minute meeting, it would've been nice for Nathan to be there for Alex."

"Miranda, I'm sorry but you know how busy my client is and Nathan is the worst at keeping a schedule."

"I don't care for your excuses, bottom line is that we had a deal. Alex has been pulling her weight while Nathan has been MIA."

"Well we invited you to join us in San Francisco a few days ago but you opted for a Chris Keller concert instead.. how was that by the way?" Clay asked.

"Don't try to turn the tables on me Clay. I won't let my client keep propping your's while Nathan does nothing. Now, this upcoming movie premiere back in Seattle is important."

"Look, Nathan's going to show up, don't worry."

"He better." Miranda warned and then hung up on him. Clay sighed to himself, _what a morning._

. . . . .

Haley stepped out of the tub and wrapped a towel around herself. She took another towel and started to dry her hair. A warm shower was exactly what she needed. She couldn't believe Nathan was able to pull the rug from underneath her yet again. First he has a girlfriend, which technically she should've known about if she hadn't been trying to purge herself of Nathan ever since he showed up out of the blue and knocked her up. And now, she finds out that it was all an act.

She couldn't believe he would stoop so low just to promote his basketball career. But then again, why was she surprised. It was clear that from the moment he broke her heart that he wasn't the guy she thought he was. It was always basketball for him. She first tutored him in high school because he needed to keep his grades up to stay on the team. Then she joined the Raven's cheerleading squad to be with him during games and practices, though technically she also did it because Brooke had begged her to do it. But what was worse was that she agreed to follow him to Duke so that way he can have his basketball career but for what, for nothing. He ended up not going to Duke and enrolling in Maryland with not so much as a discussion with her. Basketball was first and everything would always be second.

Opening her bathroom door, she continued to dry her hair when she suddenly shrieked.

"NATHAN!" She exclaimed, making sure the towel was firmly secured to her body.

There, Nathan stood on the tree branch outside her bedroom window. Nathan smirked from his spot as he allowed himself to take in the view of her dripping wet with only a towel on. Noticing her angry face, he quickly straightened up.

"Why is this lock?" Nathan tried to open the window.

"To keep perverts like you out!" Haley walked towards the window.

"Haley.. would you just open up and listen to me." After she shoved him out of the house earlier, he tried calling her and ringing the door bell but she ignored him. The window was his last resort.

"I have nothing to say to you!" Haley bit back and closed the blinds. He continued to call out her name but the next thing he knew, he heard the radio on full blast, drowning out his cries.

Sensing defeat, he climbed his way down the tree. The last thing he needed was for someone to see him and call the cops on him. Nathan once again felt like everything was out of control. All he's been able to do lately was mess things up. It seems like everything he does is the wrong move. It was already so hard to be back home. Everywhere he went brought up a memory, the past was alive and his mistakes evident. He broke her heart, he knew it and just thinking about her upset and crying over him was enough to make him sick. But now she looked at him, not with anger in her eyes but disappointment. He'd never seen that look and he honestly didn't blame her. It felt like a punch in the gut.

He made his way back to the front porch and took a seat on the steps. Haley had a doctor's appointment today and he'll be damn if he'll miss out on that. When it comes to his child, their child, he didn't want to miss a thing. Haley had to come out of the house sooner or later and when she did, he would be here ready for her.

. . . . . .

"_Lucas!" Lydia James opened the door and the two shared a quick hug._

"_Thank you so much for coming here so soon." _

"_It's no problem, Mrs. James."_

"_She's in her room, she won't come out, she won't eat. I know she's taking it bad but.." Lydia took a deep breath and shook her head. "She's had the summer to take everything in but she's leaving for Stanford soon and I .."_

"_You don't have to explain Mrs. J.. You have enough to deal with, I'll see what I can do about Hales." Lucas gave her a sympathetic smile and headed up the stairs and towards Haley's room._

_He arrived at Haley's door and gently knocked on her door. He knocked a few times but there was no response. Lucas decided to just go in and slowly turned the knob. He found her sitting Indian style on her bed, various pictures scattered across the bed. _

"_Hey buddy.." Lucas slowly walked in. _

_Haley glanced up and then quickly looked back down on the various photos in front of her. _

"_What you up to?" Lucas asked as he took a seat on the edge of the bed. _

"_Just remembering happier times." Haley sighed. _

_Lucas looked down and saw various pictures. Some were of them when they were younger and he smiled at the memories being conjured. There were also pictures of Haley with her parents and siblings as well as other family members. He picked up a group picture from high school of Haley, Lucas, Brooke, Peyton and Nathan, his arm firmly around Haley's shoulders. Those were definitely more simple and happy times._

"_I remember this picture.. start of senior year." Lucas commented. _

"_It seems so long ago doesn't it? Since we were in high school." Haley commented as she glanced over at the photo Lucas was looking at._

"_Not that long." He put the photo down. _

_Haley picked up a stack of photos and started to flip through them. Some were pictures of her with her sisters when she was younger, then one of her parents taken from father's day a few years ago, and the last one was of her and Nathan, he in his basketball uniform, her in her cheerleaders._

"_How are you holding up?" Lucas asked once more._

_She put the photos down, water in her eyes. She turned to Lucas, "Not so good."_

_Immediately, he took her in his arms as she sobbed in his chest._

"_I.. I.. I just miss him so much." She cried out._

"_I know you do." Lucas rubbed her back._

"_He's never coming back.. is he?" She tried to stifle her sobs. _

"_I'm afraid not."_

"_He's gone!" She choked out and Lucas held her tighter._

"_I wish.. I wish there was something I can do for you." Lucas replied._

"_You've already done so much Luke."_

"_Still, I don't like to see you like this. I'm serious Hales, anything you want. I'll even let you beat me in miniature golf."_

_Haley sat up and looked at him. "Let me?" She teased and Lucas was happy to see her joking around again. _

"_I have you know, I kicked your butt plenty of times on my own." She replied back but just as quickly her facial expression changed. _

"_What is it Hales?"_

"_There.. there is something you can do."_

"_Anything." He quickly replied._

"_Take me.. take me to see him." Haley's tear filled eyes looked into Lucas'. There was no way he could say no._

"_I'll drive." Lucas answered._

. . . . . .

Haley opened her front door and found Nathan there. She wasn't surprised. She expected as much. Still, she ignored him as she walked down the stairs.

"Haley, would you wait?" He was annoyed as he got up and followed her to her car.

"What're you still doing here Nathan?"

"You said you had a doctor's appointment."

"And?"

"And I'd like to be there, please Haley. I know you must hate me but please, let me at least see my kid.. our kid."

Haley paused before answering. "If you want to go then, I won't stop you." She said opening the door to her car.

"I can drive." Nathan offered.

"I'm not riding in a car with you." Haley replied stepping inside. "I have other things I need to do today, you can follow." Haley started her engine up and started to back out from the driveway.

Nathan shook his head as he ran into his car. Luckily, he was able to catch up to Haley and followed her to the hospital. He thought they were going to Tree Hill General but ended up two towns over to a much larger hospital. The place was huge but he parked close to Haley and followed her inside. She still wasn't talking to him but he'd take her silence over her yelling at him.

Nathan wore a baseball cap and dark sunglasses. Luckily, no one had recognized him yet and the few people in the waiting room were too preoccupied to notice him. He wanted to talk to her but knew it wasn't the time. He could tell she was still annoyed at him and frankly, with them in public, he didn't want to hash anything out right here.

"Haley." A nurse came out and Nathan took Haley's lead and followed her inside.

"Is he coming to the check up as well?" The nurse asked Haley, referring to Nathan.

Haley nodded.

"Sir, you can wait here." The nurse pointed to the examination room and then the nurse handed Haley a patient gown.

A few minutes later, Nathan removed the hat and sunglasses and sat down on one of the chairs while Haley changed behind a curtain.

"Turn around!" She ordered.

"What? It's nothing I haven't seen before." Nathan teased.

"Nathan would just please do what I'm asking!"

"Fine fine." Nathan turned around and Haley peeked outside to make sure he was telling the truth. She quickly made her way over to the examining chair and sat down.

They were still waiting for the doctor and Nathan figured this would be a good time as ever to try to talk to her.

"Hey Hales, I'm sorry about earlier."

"Nathan.. I'm.. I'm really tired of hearing you apologize."

"I know but for what it's worth, I really am sorry. I didn't mean to ambush you like that about Alex but yeah, I'm sorry and I want to thank you. .thank you for letting me be here. I know this hasn't been easy on you but I just really want you and the baby.. our baby to be okay."

Haley nodded. "It is our baby." Haley said softly. "Even though sometimes I wish it wasn't. I'm not saying this to be mean to you but I just wanted to let you know. I just don't trust you."

Nathan felt his stomach churn but tried to push it aside. "I know you don't. I don't blame you." Nathan looked at her with sad eyes and for a moment, Haley almost let herself falter. She simply nodded and just then the doctor came walking in.

"Hi Haley.. good to see you again.. I see we have a guest this time." A middle aged man greeted.

"Hi Doctor Anderson." Haley replied shaking his hand. "This.. this is the father." Haley pointed to Nathan.

The doctor looked at him curiously before reaching his hand out. "You're Nathan Scott."

"Yes." Nathan shook his hand.

"Well, I'll be damned.. you've had quite a season." The doctor wasn't expecting to see a NBA player today.

"Yeah I know." Nathan tried to be polite.

"Doctor, given Nathan's notoriety, we would like to keep this just between us." Haley spoke up.

"Oh of course of course." The doctor answered. "Your chart has the father's name blank, we'll keep it that way until you guys are ready."

"Thank you so much." Haley replied back.

"Yes, thank you doctor."

"Your very welcome.. now let's get started… Nathan, you can pull up a chair next to Haley, Haley you know the drill."

Haley secured a towel on her lap and the doctor raised her gown.

Nathan's eyes went wide, seeing the bump for the very first time. He'd felt it before but this was all so real now. The doctor turned on the sonogram machine and sprayed a cool liquid on Haley's stomach. A few seconds later, their baby popped up on the machine.

Nathan's eyes were fixed to the machine as the doctor started pointing out the head, legs and arms. He'd seen the sonogram before but nothing could prepare him for this. The doctor raised the volume of the speakers and you can clearly hear the heart beat. Nathan felt like his own heart was about to jump out of his chest. Haley glanced over at Nathan and saw him awe struck. She'd never seen him that way and she can honestly say that she liked this look.

"The heart is strong, your baby is growing on schedule. Unfortunately, it's too soon yet to tell the sex but by the next visit, I can let you guys know if that's what you want."

"So everything is okay?" Nathan asked.

"Yes, everything is on track, the baby is fine. Haley's doing great." The doctor commented, writing a few notes on the his pad.

"I do need to run some standard tests to make sure the baby is developing properly. Right now, it's asleep but Haley, would you mind taking a bite from those crackers."

Haley reached over and took a cracker and started to chew and swallow it. Then Haley and Nathan both watched in amazement as their little child started to wake up and it's little arms and legs moving.

"Oh my God!" Haley said with tears in her eyes. "I don't.. I don't feel a thing." Haley couldn't believe that she was watching her baby move.

"The fetus is still small, but don't worry, soon enough you will." The doctor replied with a chuckle.

"Wow, look at 'em go." Nathan was just as amazed and unknowingly he held onto Haley's hand. The two of them smiled at each other before turning their attention back onto the screen. Any ill feelings Haley had faded as she saw her baby's arms and feet move. She wasn't expecting this to happen but nevertheless she was thrilled to see it and more importantly, happy that Nathan was able to share in this as well.

The doctor froze the image and printed a few copies, one for him and he handed the other two to the beaming parents.

"Wow." Nathan muttered, feeling speechless. They continued to watch the screen as the doctor filled them in on the rest of his prognosis. Everything was going on schedule and Nathan felt more than relieved. He only recently learned about this pregnancy but after all the he's been through the past few days, he knew he could only see this as a blessing now.

. . . . .

Twenty minutes later, Nathan had his shades and cap back on and the two stepped out of the hospital. Both of them were still over the moon at seeing their child. They both carried a warm smile on their faces and Nathan hadn't been able to put the latest sonogram picture down.

"I know I said this already but thank you Haley… I'm just blown away."

Haley nodded. "I wasn't expecting to see the baby move.. I couldn't believe it."

"This is really it .. there's a little person growing inside you. Wow.." Nathan sighed and smiled. He reached over to her stomach and Haley didn't make a move to stop him.

"Look Nathan, I am glad you came. You deserved to be here."

Nathan took his hand back and nodded. "I have to get back to Seattle but I'll be here for the next appointment. .hopefully even sooner, I'll try to get my agent to clear my schedule and don't worry about the press or anything. No one knows but if something does happen, I'll handle it."

"Okay." Haley nodded. The truth was that she had already enough to deal with and if Nathan said he would deal with it then she would let him. No one knew anything and she just had to make sure she talked to Julian.

"Oh I forgot to go to the pharmacy to get my vitamins.. umm you can go ahead."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes.. I'll.. I'll see you the next time you're in town."

"Yeah.. I guess this is bye." Nathan felt awkward, not really sure what to do.

"Bye." Haley reached in and quickly hugged him and pulled back. He stood there as she headed back inside.

"Haley!" He called out after her and ran over to her, removing his sun glasses.

"Yeah?" Haley turned around.

Even though they were on good terms now, their earlier fight still bothered him. "Look before I go .. what you said earlier about basketball."

"Nathan.. you don't have to..."

"No, Hales, you were right." He interrupted her. "I did put basketball in front of everything else. It's just that.. that when I lost you.. I lost everything. Basketball was the only thing I had left and I.. I couldn't lose that."

"After my accident, I just felt so lost and alone and I know it was wrong of me to just show up three months ago but after today, I won't apologize for it because it brought me here, it gave me this." Nathan held up the sonogram. "It gave us this Haley and now I know Haley."

Haley felt the tears forming in her eyes but she held them at bay. "Know what?" She said barely above a whisper.

"That it wasn't about basketball.." Nathan replied. "I thought I was chasing a dream but the dream was in front of me this whole time. I'm sorry for letting you go Haley."

Haley stayed rooted at her spot as Nathan continued. "And before you say anything, I know you don't have a place for me in your heart but I can already see how much you love this child. I'm just the lucky bastard that gets to be the father. Basketball is my job but this." Nathan placed his hand back on her stomach. "This is what's real.. this is what matters."

Haley stood there as she looked into his cobalt blue eyes, a single tear flowing down her cheeks. Nathan gave her a warm smile and wiped the tear away and the gently caressed her cheeks. Instinctively, she closed her eyes.

"I'll see you soon Hales.. both of you." Nathan said softly as he leaned down and gently kissed her on the cheek. Haley closed her eyes as she felt his lips on her skin but it was only for a second and when she opened her eyes, he was already walking back towards his car.

. . . . .

Nathan put back his shades and adjusted his cap. He felt a little better now that he talked to Haley. He hoped his words go through to her. He meant was he said and going back to Seattle, he had to make sure to straighten things out in his life. Today he got to see his child for the first time, to see it move for the first time. He'd heard stories from other father's but Quentin said it best when you have to experience it yourself to truly know how it feels, the joy, happiness, nervousness and everything in between when it comes to being a dad for the first time.

Lord knows Nathan didn't have the best role model to follow and as he walked closer to his car, he knew thinking about Dan would only lead to bad things. He took off his sunglasses and narrowed his eyes. There leaning against his rental was none other than his own father.

"Dad." Nathan gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

. . . . .

_Lucas glanced towards Haley and found her staring aimlessly out the window. _

"_We're almost there." He commented and she turned back to him and nodded. _

_Then he heard her chuckle, "What?"_

"_Suddenly, I'm feeling scared."_

"_You have nothing to be scared of .. I'll be right there with you." Lucas replied._

_Haley smiled and stared at the road in front of them. _

"_So I got word from Brooke, she's leaving LA." Haley tried to make small talk._

"_A year in LA and she's finally tired of it?" Lucas commented._

"_She's following her mother's advice, if she wants to go into fashion then moving to New York is better for her."_

"_I can't believe how time flew." Lucas commented._

_Haley sighed. "I know but next thing you know, your book is going to get published."_

"_Hopefully, according to my editor, the book won't be ready for print for at least another 6 to 9 months, we're hoping for a spring release."_

"_I'm sure you'll get it done and it'll do great."_

"_Thanks." Lucas put the car in park. _

_The two got out of the car and walked along the grass. They passed a couple of headstones before Haley stopped._

"_It's okay Luke, I got this."_

"_You sure?" _

"_Yeah." Haley nodded and she walked the rest of the way herself. _

_Bending down, she placed the flowers on the ground and traced the lettering on the still all too fresh headstone. _

"_Hi Dad.." Haley choked out._

_. . . . . ._

The line at the pharmacy was much longer than Haley anticipated but she got her vitamins and headed towards the elevator. Going up to the 7th floor, Haley made her way past the familiar doors and into the Oncology Department.

Entering the hospital room, she bumped into a nurse who was just leaving.

"Oh Miss James, I didn't know you were coming by today."

"I was in the area." Haley replied. "How is she?"

"The last round of chemo drained her but she's sleeping now. Will you be staying over?"

"Not tonight, my sister is coming by later."

"Oh ok, well I got to get going on my rounds. Bye."

"Bye." Haley smiled politely and entered the hospital room. She stood by the bed and ran her hand over her now bald head.

"Hey mom."

To Be Continued . . . . .


	8. My Attendance Is Bad But My Intentions

The Search for Something More

Chapter 8 – My Attendance Is Bad But My Intentions Are Good

Thank you for the reviews. I'm sorry it took this long to update but I've been super duper busy the past few weeks but I finally have a weekend to myself and I'll have more time to get more chapters out. Like I said before, I was inspired by some of the storylines in season 7 and Lucas alluded to how much Haley had been through. The last thing I wanted was for Haley to be spending all this time pining over Nathan. I want to surprise you because Naley stories tend to get very predictable after a while. I hope I accomplished that. Now I really enjoyed writing this chapter, it has a lot in here. I don't want to give anything away. I apologize for any spelling/grammar issues, this chapter was really long and I tried my best to go over everything.

On a side note, please support One Tree Hill, visit OTH fan sites like onetreehillblogDOTcom for more info. I would die if we only have four episodes left of Naley!!

I hope you enjoy and please review!

. . . . .

"_Miss James?"_

"…"

"_Miss James?" The voice grew louder._

_Haley looked up at Dr. Anderson. "I'm sorry Doctor, I'm just still taking it all in." Haley continued to stare at the sonogram._

_Dr. Anderson gave her a comforting smile. Clearly, this wasn't something she was expecting._

"_Understandable for first time mothers." The doctor nodded. "I'm surprised you've only found out now. According to this, you're about…" _

"_Two months along." Haley interrupted and the doctor nodded. "Last month, I caught the flu, I thought I wasn't feeling well because of that." Haley added. As soon as the doctor told her she was pregnant immediately knew the baby was Nathan's. She hadn't been with anyone except Nathan, except for last night. After two months of trying to forget him, she thought she was through with him but it seemed that faith had other plans. _

"_Is.. is the baby okay?"_

"_Everything looks normal but as I suggest to every expecting mothers, take it a lot easier, rest up, drink plenty of fluids, remember it's just not you now." _

_Haley nodded. "Is there anything else?"_

_Haley sat there and listened to the doctor as he gave her the do's and don'ts when it comes to being pregnant. She tried to listen but her mind was distracted. She was _

_still reeling over the shock. She really didn't expect this. This morning, she thought it was from last night and being with Julian. She tried to shake such thoughts and listen back to the doctor._

_A couple of minutes later, Haley left Doctor Anderson's office and headed towards the elevator. Going up to the 7__th__ floor, she made he way through the familiar doors of the oncology department. She took a minute to compose herself and prepare her for what was coming next. Putting on a brave face and a smile, she entered her mother's hospital room and took a seat next to her mother._

"_Sweetheart, there you are." Lydia smiled._

"_Hey mom." Haley hugged her mom and took a seat._

"_I thought you were coming earlier." _

_Haley's mind flashbacked to last night, of going out at Tric, of hanging out with Julian, sleeping with Julian to take her mind off her mother's cancer, of feeling sick this morning, of being a mother, Nathan.._

"_Honey are you okay?" Lydia asked with concerned. "You're looking a little pale."_

"_I was out last night at Tric, it was a late night. I'm just tired."_

"_Was Julian there?" Her mom immediately asked._

"_Yes mother, he was."_

"_And?"_

"_And what?"_

"_Don't play coy with me Haley-bub. I want to know what's going on with you two." _

"_There's nothing going on mom.. at least not anymore."_

"_It's a shame if you ask me. I've always like Julian."_

"_Mom.." Haley whined._

"_Unless you're still hung up over Nathan.."_

"_MOM!" _

"_What?"_

"_First of all mom, like I told you a million times over, it just wasn't working out with Julian and after five years why would you even bother mention _his_ name."_

"_Because.."_

"_Because what?"_

"_Because I'm your mother and I know you. I see that far off look you get in your eyes. You had that look after you and Nathan broke up and I've seen that look on you for these past couple of months, so what's up bub?"_

"_There's nothing up mom, I haven't spoken to Nathan in years." She lied. Although she didn't really speak with Nathan, just yelled at him and then slept with him_

_and is now pregnant. _

"_Still, I know he's been in the news ever since his accident and his return back to the NBA."_

_Haley gave her a weird look._

"_What? I watch sportscenter from time to time. Sometimes, that's the only thing to watch, you think this place would have more than just basic cable."_

_Haley smiled at her mom and wanting to steer from all topics Nathan Scott or Julian Baker. "So how are you feeling today mom?"_

"_Yes, Mrs. James, how are you today?" _

"_Dr. West, Hello." Haley stood up and shook his head. _

"_How many times have I told you, just call me Lydia." _

"_Sorry, Lydia." Dr. West smiled. "How are you feeling?"_

"_I'm okay doc." _

"_That's good." The doctor nodded. "Haley, can I speak with you for a minute?"_

"_No you don't!" Lydia protested. "Whatever you have to say, you can say to my face." _

_The doctor looked to Haley and she nodded. She knew her mother was being stubborn._

"_Okay then." The doctor sighed. "It's not easy for me to say this and going into this we knew what the risks were."_

"_Get on with it doctor." Lydia teased, although she knew what he was about to say was anything but funny._

" _We got out latest test results and the prognosis isn't good."_

"_Not good?!" Haley panicked, "What do you mean?"_

"_Just that, the treatment isn't as effective as we'd hoped. It's slowing down the cancer but it's still spreading."_

"_Meaning?" Haley asked, clutching onto her mother's hand._

"_Meaning, you and your family should prepare yourselves."_

"_How.. how long?" Haley asked, her lips trembling._

"_Six months.. a year… it's hard to say."_

"_Oh my God!" Haley gasped, her eyes wet with tears._

"_Haley, honey it's okay. We knew this was coming."_

"_No, it can't!" Haley shook her head. She clutched onto her stomach, how can she even be a mother without her own with her, to help her, to guide her. Haley just found out she was having a baby. She didn't know anything about diapers or formulas. Shoot the doctor just told her she can't have any seafood. She didn't know what to do in these situations. She needed her mother._

"_Is there anything? Anything we can do?"_

"…"_  
_

"_Dr. West, if there's a chance for my mom to make it, you need to tell us.. please!" Haley pleaded._

_The doctor sighed and tapped his pen against his white lab coat. "There is something, an experimental treatment… BUT before you get your hopes up, this is experimental.. there's no guarantees.."_

"_But it's still something."_

"_The lab tests proved promising but like I said, there's no guarantee and because it's not FDA approved, I would need to submit a request to the hospital board and they would have the final say. Now I can submit the requests but unfortunately the board can be slow as molasses, it took two months for them just to approve my parking spot."_

"_We don't have two months doctor."_

"_I know, I'll do my best but even so, you're insurance will probably not fit the bill. Like I said, it's an experimental procedure and most insurance companies provide little or no coverage for it, on top of that, with your mom's current treatment, you've already stretched your insurance thin." _

"_But.."_

"_Haley.." Lydia interrupted her. "Doctor, can you give my daughter and I a minute?"_

"_Sure." Doctor West excused himself from the hospital room._

"_Now, Haley.."_

"_Mom, whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it."_

"_But Haley.."_

"_But nothing mom. This is your life we're talking about. I won't let you die.. I won't." Haley pleaded, tears running down her face. _

"_Haley… my beautiful Haley.." Lydia caressed her cheeks and wiped away her tears. "Honey, you've sacrificed so much .. you and your siblings.. I don't want to be a burden to you guys.. if it's my time then it's my time."_

"_But that's the thing mom, it's not your time. As long as there's hope .. we can't .. I won't.. so please mom.. for me.. for the rest of your children.. grandchildren." Haley pleaded._

"_Okay, Haley-bub but you heard the doctor.. the cost.. the hospital board.."_

"_Mom, you just concentrate on getting better. I'll.. I'll figure everything else out." Haley stated. "We already lost Dad.. we can't lose you too."_

_Lydia wiped the tears of Haley's face. After the death of her husband, Lydia didn't know how she could make it but it was her children and grandchildren that kept her going. Jimmy was taken too soon from this world and Lydia knew she still had more to do on this Earth._

"_Okay." Lydia replied. _

"_Oh thank you mom."_

"_But." Lydia interrupted. "This is it honey.. if this doesn't work.. please .. you have to let me go.. I love you and our family too much to go through this again. Okay honey, promise me."_

"_I promise mom."_

_. . . . ._

"Dad." Nathan gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

"What? No hug for your old man."

"What're you doing here?"

"I can ask you the same thing."

"…" There was no way in hell, he was going to tell Dan about Haley and the baby. That's the last thing he needs right now.

"Fine, if you must now, I had a doctor's appointment today., I saw you in the halls."

"Right, and you just happen to me standing right by my rental car in this huge ass parking lot."

"I may have asked the police department to track your plates."

"Dad, what the hell!? You can't just be stalking me.."

"I wasn't stalking. I was concerned.. my son comes home after all this time. A phone call would be nice Nathan. I bet you told your brother you were in town."

Nathan looked at him curiously. It was weird to hear Dan acknowledging Lucas as his son.

"Dad, seriously, what do you want?"

"I can't say hi." Dan mocked. "And why are you at the hospital, is everything ok? How's your back?"

"Yes, dad. I came here to see someone about my back." He lied. "Everything is fine." He needed to get his dad off his case.

"And Haley coming with you was for moral support."

Nathan's face fell.

"What don't give me that look, I saw you two inside on my way to see my doctor. Yes, Nathan, I was actually here for my regular check up, don't look too shocked."

"Let's just say, I don't trust you dad."

"Are you still mad about that?"

"Are you kidding me? First you ride me for most of my life to get to the NBA and when I finally made it, you're still not happy. Don't you get it dad, you'll never be happy.."

"You're right son, I'm not happy. I have money, as mayor I have power but it's not enough. I know that now. I'm not happy unless you're happy Nathan."

"Wow, dad I'm touched." Nathan mocked.

"No Nathan, I mean it. So, you and Haley, are you two.."

"Are you fucking serious?" Nathan couldn't believe it. He thought he landed in Tree Hill not the Twilight Zone.

"I think Haley is good for you .. I admit I wasn't her biggest fan .."

Before Dan could get another word in, Nathan threw a left hook, knocking Dan to the ground.

"First you talked about how Haley would ruin my life and now your spouting shit about her making me happy. You're unbelievable you know that." Nathan gritted through his teeth.

He walked past Dan and entered his car and quickly started the engine. Dan got up and dusted himself off.

"Don't be afraid to go after the things that make you happy Nathan."

Nathan gave Dan a puzzled look. "You're right Dad." Nathan said sarcastically. "In fact, nothing would make me happier than getting away from you." And with that Nathan sped off.

Nathan drove off as fast as he could and was glad he wasn't pulled over by the police. He made it back to Tree Hill and parked his car. He was still fuming from his encounter with Dan and needed a minute to calm himself. Getting out of the car, he made his way up the familiar street and onto the side entrance with the red door.

Nathan took a deep breath before knocking on it. A few seconds later, he heard someone turning the knob and opening the door.

"What're you doing here?" Lucas questioned.

"Can we talk?" Nathan asked.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!?" Nathan heard someone yell out from inside the house and sure enough, there was Julian.

"Crap." Lucas muttered. "Wait here." Lucas slammed the door shut and turned to face Julian.

"What the hell is that prick doing here?" Julian yelled.

"This prick will kick your ass!" Nathan yelled through the door.

Losing his patience, Lucas opened the door, "Would you fucking chill! If not your ass can leave." Lucas slammed the door in his face again.

"I want to see him try." Julian scoffed.

"Julian.." Lucas warned. "Nathan may have a bad back but I assure you, you don't want to fight with him."

"I can take him."

"Besides the point Julian."

"No, the point is what is this asshole doing here?"

"I don't know man."

"I find that hard to believe.. now that you two are so buddy buddy with each other."

"Just cuz we played a game of pick up yesterday does not mean I'm buddy buddy with Nathan. We're brothers but I haven't talked to him in years and I just told you that growing up, we didn't even get along."

"Whatever man. I knew coming here would be a waste of time."

"Julian, please.. I'm sorry for not telling you about Nathan. I honestly didn't know Haley saw him."

"She did more than see him!" Julian gritted out. "She's knocked up with his bastard child."

"Julian." Lucas warned. Whatever ill feelings he had towards Nathan, he was still the baby's uncle through his best friend and biologically through Nathan. "That baby is innocent, if you want to be mad at Haley then fine but don't bring her child into it."

"Whatever.." Julian headed to the door.

"Wait." Lucas called out.

"Don't worry Luke.. I won't tell anyone who the real father is." Julian opened the door and found Nathan standing there. The two gave each other a hard look.

"Unlike this prick, I actually care for Haley so for her sake, I won't say anything .. but don't think I'm doing this for you." Julian turned to Nathan.

"You better get out of here while you can still walk or Lucas would have to carry you out." Nathan gritted. It took everything in him not to smash through the door and kick this guy's ass. Julian gave Nathan one last hard look before walking off.

Lucas scratched his head. "Did you have to go and do that?"

"What, I didn't do anything?"

"Don't play innocent Nathan. You're lucky I was able to talk to Julian before he rags his mouth off about you being the father. His family is from Hollywood so he knows how it is and despite everything you and Haley put him through, he's still willing to keep his mouth shut for Haley's sake so don't provoke him." Lucas warned. He promised Haley that he would talk to Julian for her, since Julian wasn't talking to her.

"And speaking of provoking.. how dare you kick Haley out of your hotel room yesterday?! Just so you can save face in front of your girlfriend!"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What?" Lucas asked.

"Like I told Haley, Alex and I .. we aren't together.. at least not in the way you think we are."

Lucas squinted at his brother and offered the million dollar question, "Huh?"

Nathan sighed as he recounted to Lucas everything he told Haley. How this was all a set up set up by his management and Alex' management to promote the two of them. He winced when he saw the look of disappointment on Lucas' face.

"You can stop giving me that look, you know. I already feel like an ass."

"You should!" Lucas exclaimed, not believing everything he just heard. "I couldn't even imagine you'd go this low.."

"Look, I already apologized to Haley and I promise you that I'm going to put an end to this."

"God, Nathan, what a mess?"

"I know okay!" Nathan said frustrated. "I know but I'm trying my best, which is why I came here. After spending all morning groveling outside Haley's house, I went with her to see the doctor and we had another sonogram." Nathan reached into his pocket and handed the picture to Lucas.

Lucas smiled at the image before returning it back to Nathan. Now that the initial shock of finding out about Haley's pregnancy had worn out, Lucas decided to focus on the good in all this. Besides, life was always better than death and Lucas would take stock in knowing that in a couple of months, a new life would come into this world and he would be this child's favorite uncle.

"How's Haley and the baby?"

"They're both doing good. It's still to early to find out the sex, maybe next appointment. You should've seen it Luke, the doctor asked Haley to eat some crackers and the baby just moved." Nathan's face lit up.

"Moved?"

"It moved it's little hands and feet.. it was.. it was incredible." Nathan said breathless and Lucas noticed a change in Nathan. He couldn't put his finger on it but the way he talked, the smile on his face, the way his eyes would light up, Nathan was happy, not even winning the state championship, he'd never seen Nathan look this happy. Maybe his brother was taking his new role as soon to be dad seriously.

"I bet." Lucas smiled. "I'm glad you were there for that Nathan."

"Thank you and I told you, I already apologized to Haley and I promised her what I'm going to promise you, that I'm going to try. I know that I'm far from perfect but I'm going to try and make things right."

"Fair enough."

"I have to get back to Seattle but I'll be back for the next check-up, hopefully sooner. If I can move back to Tree Hill, I would but I'm under contract and I won't ask Haley to come out west. I've already put her through enough."

"That's an understatement." Lucas huffed.

"I'm trying to be serious here.. ass!"

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Whatever.. I'll keep an eye out on her if that's what you're asking."

"I am.. and thanks."

"Julian and I will take good care of her."

"What?!?" Nathan's face grew heated and Lucas couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm just kidding man, you can stop giving me dirty looks. Besides, for both their sakes, I think Julian and Haley need some time apart from each other.."

"You really are an ass." Nathan slapped his brother upside the head.

"HEY!" Lucas squinted at him.

"But look, there's one more thing."

"What?" Lucas asked annoyed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I saw Dan."

"Dan?"

"Yeah he was being really weird but what's new right."

Lucas scoffed. "Yeah."

"Anyways, I called him out on his BS but he talked about wanting me to be happy and calling you my brother."

"He said that?"

"Yeah, he was mad that I didn't call him that I was in town and said that I probably called my brother to let him know I'm back.. his words not mine."

"Weird… you know.. never mind." Lucas shook his head.

"What?"

"I was at Tric last week and he showed up and like wished me good luck on my next book."

"It's Dan, I'm stopped trying to figure out how that guy's mind works but the thing is Luke, he said he was there for a doctor's appointment but he did see me and Haley in the hallway in the hospital."

"Fuck, are you serious?"

"Yeah.. I mean, I told him I was there for my back and didn't say anything about Haley .. oh yeah and before I left, I punched him to the ground and told him to stay away from me and Haley."

"Real smooth there." Lucas mocked. "But I don't blame you, I'd probably hit him too."

"Yeah so I don't know if he knows or not but anything involving Dan, I'm worried so while I'm gone."

"Don't worry about it. I got this."

"Thanks Luke."

"No problem."

"No Luke, I mean it. Thank you, you didn't have to do any of this but you are."

"Nathan, you can apologize all you want for the past 5 years, but it still doesn't change what happened or what you did. But right now, all that is secondary behind Haley and the baby. I'm doing this for them Nathan and if you say you're going to do better then do it. This is it Nathan, this is your chance to prove me wrong. I can't let you keep hurting Haley and I won't let you hurt your child."

"I won't." Nathan promised. "I am trying Lucas, but I'm .. I'm scared though.."

Nathan sighed. "Of screwing up again.. I know I've dug myself a mess but I'm trying to clean it up but what if I make the wrong move. I break things off with Alex but if she finds out about the baby she can go to the press and then we'll all be screwed .. and then there's Dan.."

"Look Nathan, I'm glad your serious about this .. but with Dan, well that's out of our control but Alex.. she's your responsibility Nate. I wish I knew what to do about that one but I don't know. It's up to you."

If Nathan wanted to be a better man then he'll stop with the lies about being with Alex and figure out a way not to piss her off or tip the press off before they hound Haley. Then there was the fact that he still had the season to finish and Seattle is on the other side of the country. Nathan knew that Clay wasn't going to like this.

Nathan sighed, "I know."

. . . . .

Haley picked up the vase by her mother's bedside and headed to the bathroom. She held the flowers in one hand and emptied the water out with the other. Her mother was still sleeping, which was a good thing. The therapy she's been going through is taking a serious toll on her body and Lydia would need all the strength she would need. Haley doubt that her mom would even wake up today. The doctor gave her a sedative to keep her under, the pain would be too much if she was awake. Haley tried to shake away such thoughts and went about replacing the water in the vase.

Looking at her watch, she figured she should make her way out. She leaned up to her mom and kissed her on the forehead. "Bye mom, I'll be back soon." Haley grabbed her purse and pulled out her phone. She sent a text message to her sister, letting her know that she was heading out. Haley and her siblings have been taking turns caring for their mother.

She put the phone back in her bag and stepped out of the room and nearly bumped into someone.

"Oh I'm so sor…" The words died on Haley's lips as Dan Scott hovered over her. She took a step back and noticed his swollen jaw.

"Miss James."

"Mr. Scott." Haley clutched onto her purse.

Dan peered around her and looked into the hospital room.

"How's your mother?"

"Resting." Haley tried walking by him but Dan moved to her side and blocked her.

"And how about my grandchild?" Dan smirked.

. . . . .

_"I'll give you guys a minute." The lady from billing stood up from her desk and exited her office._

_Haley's teary filled eyes turned to her friend next to her. "Peyton, what am I going to do?"_

"_Haley, come here, it's going to be okay." Peyton pulled her into a hug. _

_It had been a few days since Haley found out about her pregnancy and the doctor suggesting about the experimental treatment for her mom. She'd been trying her best to figure something out but there were still a lot of challenges in front of them and time was of the essence._

"_But how?" Haley cried. "According to this, the board won't even consider approving the treatment unless we have the finances.. so even if I can somehow pull out this load of money out of my ass.. there's still no guarantee the board will approve it."_

"_I know Hales, I wish there was something I can do."_

"_No, Peyton, you being here is enough. Thanks for doing this for me."_

"_Haley, it's no problem. When my mom.. my birth mom was going through treatment, I was alone. I wish I had a friend by my side."_

"_Thanks.. none of my brother's or sister's can make it... and everyone in the family is strapped for cash .. I .. I don't know what to do."_

"_It'll work out Haley, but I wouldn't be a friend if I didn't tell you to prepare yourself. If it's meant to be, it'll be but if not.. you have to let her go. As painful as it is, you have to." _

"_I know." Haley's lips trembled. "Thanks for coming Peyton.. bu I think I need sometime to myself.. take a walk and clear my head."_

"_No problem." The two shared a hug._

"_Give my best to Jake." _

"_I will." Peyton replied. "I'll let you know next time I'm home." _

_The two said goodbye and Haley walked down the hospital hallways and found herself sitting alone in the chapel. She prayed for some divine intervention, anything to help her mother out. She clutched onto her stomach, how could one life be starting while another one was ending._

_The door opened and she was surprised to see none other than Dan Scott. Too stunned to move, she sat there as he walked in and took a seat next to her._

"_So I looked over your mother's case." Dan spoke first._

"_What, how?" _

_Dan handed her Lydia's file. "As mayor of one of the neighboring communities, I'm also part of the hospital board. I'm not a doctor but from what I've heard the treatment is experimental."_

"_If you just came here to turn down my request, then you can just stop now okay."_

"_You have me mistaken, I want to help you."_

"_Help me?"_

"_Yes, I wouldn't want Lydia to miss out on her latest grandchild."_

_Haley's face fell. "How.. how.."_

"_I didn't but you just confirmed it for me." He smiled. " When I picked up your mother's case, I had billing send a copy of the insurance claims. It seems that your name appeared to see the OBGYN."_

"…"

"_Congratulations Haley."_

"_You said you're going to help me so .. so what do you want?"_

"_What makes you think I want something?"_

_Haley gave her a pointed look._

"_Fair enough, you are right.. I do want something.."_

"_I knew it."_

"_Now before you jump to conclusions and before I stick my neck out for you, I need to know."_

"_Know what?"_

"_Who's the father?"_

"_What! Are you seriously asking me this?!" Haley couldn't believe the nerve of him_

"_Look, I asked around.. you're no longer seeing that guy that always wears the goofy hats and with the big forehead."_

"_I don't have to answer to you."_

"_No you don't but if you want my help then you'll tell me how the father is. Now what I really want to know is if Lucas is the father?"_

"_Are you crazy?!"_

"_You two always hang out together and I need to know if I'm going to be a grandparent too."_

"_This child has nothing to do with you." Haley clutched to her stomach and turned away from him._

"_Oh my God." Dan's jaw dropped. "I am the grandfather, aren't I?"_

"_No." Haley couldn't face him but it didn't matter, her own words sounded hollow.  
_

"_I am." Dan moved to look at Haley. "If it's not Lucas.. it can't be.. Nathan?" Dan gasped, a little shocked._

"…"

"_It's Nathan's isn't it?"_

"_.. . ." Haley stayed quiet as tears poured from her face._

"_And I bet you he doesn't know huh?" Dan asked softly. Still Haley remained quiet as tears fell from her face, her silence telling him everything he needed to know._

"_You don't need to say anything, I'll do my best to get the board to approve your mother's case." Dan stood up._

"_You.. you will?"_

"_You'll need financing." Dan reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. "This is my assistant Renee, I'll let her know the situation and you can call her and she'll take care of you." He handed Haley the card. "I'll help you get board approval but I'll need a favor from you.. two actually." Dan smiled. _

"_I knew it." Haley finally spoke up._

"_Don't worry, it's nothing bad, I assure you."_

"_What is it?"_

"_Well the first is that you tell Nathan the truth about his child."_

"_And the second?"_

_Dan paused. "I'll get back to you on that." Dan turned around and headed towards the exit. "I'll be in touch Miss James." And with that he left._

To Be Continued . . . .


	9. An Attempt to Tip the Scales

The Search for Something More

Chapter 9 - An Attempt to Tip the Scales

Thank you for the reviews, I'm glad you enjoyed it and yeah about Dan, well I'll you'll just have to wait and see. Some of you did catch on about Haley, whether she told Nathan because of Dan or what? Well, I'll have to keep silent about that as well lol. Someone made a good point about the treatment should be free and although you are correct in most cases, Lydia is not part of the testing group, meaning she wasn't pick to do the study and therefore is not eligible for free payments. Thanks for picking up on that detail but I did consider that when crafting this storyline. This story is personal for me as well because at the moment, my sister and my cousin are both pregnant and my other cousin just had a baby so stories about the pregnancy, I'm drawing from real life experience. The whole cracker scene in a previous chapter happened with my sister. It was the first time she ever saw the baby move. I've also been deeply affected by cancer, my sister had it, two of my uncles died from it, my aunt died recently from it and my other aunt had breast cancer so I know every type of situation there is and why I wanted to bring this particular storyline from season 7 into this story. Renee and Lydia were my inspirations for this story. Anyways, I blab too much. This chapter was much longer than anticipated and this is the first chapter with out a flashback. With everything so dramatic lately, I attempted to make the chapter a little light, well as light as possible. lol

OTH is coming back on the air soon, so please please support our beloved show, send postcards, emails, anything, let the CW know we want a season 8. I probably bought out all the toy basketballs in the local targets by me lol.

Enjoy and please review!

. . . . .

Haley looked over at her mom and noticed that she had fallen asleep. She looked better today, she had some color to her skin instead of her looking pale. Her strength was coming back too. She was able to take a short walk yesterday and went to the bathroom with little assistance. Lydia felt better too and the doctor had told Haley that the treatment was working so far.

Haley had been relieved. She had been so worried about everything and the thought of losing her mother sent chills down her spine. She knew she was being a little selfish but she couldn't help it. She was going to be a mother herself and she needed her own mother, now more than ever. Haley promised herself that she would tell people about her pregnancy after she told Nathan but that had been over two weeks ago and she hadn't told anyone else. She wasn't sure how or if she should tell her mom. If the treatment wasn't working, Haley would be hesitant to tell her. Lydia didn't need another reminder of what she would be missing out on, not only seeing her children grow up more but her grandchildren as well. But now that the doctors had given her a better outlook, Haley knew she should tell her mother soon. She knew that Lydia would be thrilled despite the circumstances surrounding it.

Haley looked down at her phone and then turned back to the television. She knew she should change the channel but she couldn't help it as she continued to watch.

"Hello everyone, Maria Menounos here. Our first story is on up and coming actress Alex DuPree and NBA player Nathan Scott. They attended the premiere of Alex's new movie in Seattle the other week and Alex was spotted in Nathan's recent basketball game."

Haley watched as she saw footage of Alex and Nathan at a movie premiere and then of Alex watching from the stands, cheering Nathan on. The whole sight made her sick. Her phone beeped and Haley looked at the text message she just received. Not able to stand watching another second of Alex and Nathan, Haley turned off the television and made her way downstairs to the main lobby and looked around.

"Haley!!"

Haley whipped her head around and lunged into the arms of one of her best friends.

"Brooke!" Haley smiled as she pulled away from the brunette's embrace. "Thanks so much for coming."

"Not a problem."

"I wish we could've met somewhere else but I'm watching my mom until my sister comes by later."

"Oh you don't need to explain anything. I'm just so glad we can sit and catch up, it's been far too long."

"I know." Haley agreed. "Is Peyton here yet?"

"She should be here soon. How about we grab some coffee, I'm in need of a caffeine fix."

"Sounds good, the nurse is with my mom now anyway."

The two walked towards the coffee shop, Brooke ordered an iced latte with skim milk while Haley got a hot chocolate. She desperately wanted coffee but being pregnant she had to sacrifice that.

"So what's up Hales? On the phone, it sounded like you wanted to talk about something."

"Yeah, I do actually." Haley looked around and saw the scores of people around her. "It's a nice day out, let's go to the back, they have a nice garden out there." Haley wanted some privacy. The last thing she wanted was people over hearing them or another run in with Dan Scott. She knew she couldn't trust him, no man spends this time at the hospital. She didn't care if he was on the board or not. She had a lot of other things to deal with and there was no point in trying to figure out how the mind of Dan Scott worked. He seemed genuine about making sure his grandchild was okay. She promptly told him to make sure he stays away from her, less stress for her. Still, he helped her out with her mom and she couldn't fault him for that.

"It's pretty nice out here." Brooke commented as she took a seat and pulled out her phone, texting Peyton to let her know where they were. The garden was nice, there were wild flowers to the side, and the grass was green and trimmed. It made for a tranquil scene for such a busy hospital.

"Yeah, I come out here to think sometime." Haley commented. "How's the line going?"

"It's going. It's funny my mom actually banished me to Tree Hill."

"Banished?" Haley gave her a weird look.

"She said I was too distracted in New York. She agreed that I can use some downtime to get my sketches in order for next season's line."

"That's great… and are you still opening your own store?"

"Yep, our sales with Macy's has been strong so we're going to try and branch out and open our store in New York that my mom is taking care of. If that does well, then who knows?" Brooke smiled.

"Wow, I'm so happy for you Brooke. I knew you could do it. You know sometimes, I see what you've done and Peyton and Lucas and .."

"Haley stop right there."

"But.."

"Haley I know what you are getting at. I know you weren't able to finish your degree in Stanford, not a big deal. Your mom was sick and your family needed you. And when you're ready, you can go back and finish up."

"I wish it was as easy as that." Haley mumbled, clutching onto her stomach.

"But seriously Hales, what's up? You said you needed to talk about something, is everything okay with your mom?" Brooke asked concerned.

"Things are better now." She nodded. "For a while there it was touch and go but this new treatment we have her on seems to be working. She has a little more color to her skin and her strength is coming back."

"That's good."

"Yeah, it is. The doctor's are hopeful and my mom's been such a trooper about everything."

"That Lydia, she's a strong woman." Brooke toasted with her latte.

"Yes she is." Haley took a deep breath. "But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh?"

Haley was about to speak but shut her mouth, she knew she couldn't break her news without Peyton there.

"Is Peyton here yet?"

Brooke looked back at her phone. "Peyton should be here soon."

"Oh this must be big." Brooke commented as she texted Peyton to get her skinny legs here pronto.

A minute later, Haley spotted her blond friend and waved over to her.

Peyton smiled and took a seat next to her two friends.

"Haley… bitch." Peyton playfully stuck her tongue out at Brooke.

"Slut!" Brooke playfully smiled back. "You're just in time. Tutorgirl here was about to announce her big news."

"Big news?" Peyton asked.

"If you ask me, she came back to her senses and got back with Julian." Brooke not so subtly whispered over to Peyton.

"Brooke!" Haley admonished. "It's not that."

"Well, what is it?" Peyton interrupted.

"Okay, I don't know how to say this but .. I'm.. I'm pregnant." Haley said softly, looking down, not able to see her friends' reactions.

Peyton's and Brooke's mouth fell open for a good minute before either of them spoke up.

"Wow.. cong.. congratulations!" Peyton was speechless.

"Yeah, Hales.. congrats.. Julian.. must be thrilled." Brooke added the last part in.

"…." Haley stayed quiet.

"Julian is happy, right?" Peyton turned to Brooke and then back to Haley.

"No, he's definitely not happy." Haley gulped. Brooke immediately went into protective mode.

"That son of a bitch, just wait until I get my hands.."

"Brooke.." Haley interrupted her. "Julian's not happy because it's not his."

An audible gasp could be heard between the two girls. Haley knew this would happen.

"Wait, if it's not Julian.." Peyton started to speak. She didn't know Haley was seeing anyone else. From what she knew, she figured Haley and Julian were still in that weird post break up maybe get back together phase.

"It's not Lucas' is it?" Brooke snapped, surprising both Peyton and Haley.

Haley and Peyton looked at each other knowingly and then towards Brooke.

"What?" Brooke asked annoyed.

"Well, we can save that for a later conversation." Haley winked over towards Peyton and then turned back to Brooke.

"Brooke, Lucas is one of my best friends."

"Wait Hales, so who's the father?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah." Brooke added. "If it's not Julian or Lucas.."

"Oh my God!" Peyton exclaimed and turned to Brooke. "Don't tell me.."

"Holy Shit!" Brooke replied back. "It's that bartender guy from Tric.. umm.. what's his name.. Chase.."

Both Peyton and Haley gave her a confused look.

"Owen?" Brooke added.

"Brooke!" Haley admonished.

"Yeah, Brooke!" Peyton slapped her upside the head. "Hooking up with bartenders is your thing.. who else would Haley sleep with?"

Brooke threw dirty looks at Peyton as she soothed the back of her head.

"No.. no.. no." Brooke was finally catching on. "Don't tell me..Nathan?"

"…."

"Nathan!" Brooke said louder.

"SHHH!!!" Haley told her to keep her voice down.

"Oh my God, Nathan Scott!" Brooke said in a much quieter tone. "But how, when ? HOW!?"

"Keep your voice down." Haley looked around and luckily there wasn't that many people around them and there were sitting in a secluded area outside.

"I'm with Brooke, Hales. What's going on? How did this happen and are you sure?" Peyton asked.

"I'm sure." Haley sighed and then she proceeded to tell them everything that had been happening over the past few months.

. . . . .

"Are you sure?" Clay asked.

"For the millionth time, yes." Nathan replied annoyed. They were currently in Clay's office, arguing again for the last ten minutes.

"I went to that stupid premiere, I had Alex go to my games.. that's it I'm, done. I told you that I don't want to do this anymore.. in fact, I never wanted to do this in the first place."

"But think about it Nathan. If you're trying to protect Haley, then you breaking up with Alex will just bring attention to both of you."

"As opposed to now where the press already thinks we're going out." Nathan fired back. "Look Clay, no matter what the press will find out, but I'll do my best to keep Haley and the baby off the limelight for as long as possible."

"Fine, I can't change your mind but you're not fooling anyone Nathan."

"What're you talking about?"

"If we're going to do this, you got to start being honest with me at least."

"I have been honest with you."

"Are you kidding? Yeah, you may have kept me in the loop but why is it only in the past few weeks that I am hearing about Haley or your brother? Huh?"

"Clay.." Nathan whined.

"No Nathan, you say Haley was an ex-girlfriend and that things ended bad.. how bad was it?"

"It was bad, okay. I screwed up, there you happy."

"And now?"

"Now, I'm still screwing up and Alex is one of them."

"Why is it so hard for you to admit that Haley is just not some ex girlfriend?" Clay almost wanted to laugh.

"She's the mother of my child dumbass."

"Oh no no my friend. Admit it, you love her and I have a gnawing suspicion that you've always loved her."

"Look Dr. Phil.."

"See, you're trying to dodge the question."

"You're my agent not my counselor."

"No Nathan, I'm your friend and as both your agent and your friend, I'm trying to do what's best for you but you need to let me know what's up. What is it you want?"

"I told you, I want this whole arrangement with Alex over with."

"I'm not talking about just that, what do you want Nathan?"

"What I want is Alex gone, what I want is for Haley to not look at me with disappointment in her eyes. I want my brother to actually trust that I'm trying to do the right, I want my dad to stop calling me, I want Haley! Okay, you happy? I want her, I love her, I've always loved her!" Nathan said fuming. "But all of that means crap because she doesn't love me. I've hurt her enough and the only thing I can do is prove to her that I won't be a bastard of a father as my own dad!"

Clay studied Nathan for a moment before taking a seat. "That's all I wanted to hear."

"What're you trying to do to me?" Nathan sat down as well and shook his head, his heart racing. He can't believe he just told Clay all of that. He knew he'd been stressed trying to figure things out, he just didn't know he'd explode like that.

"I'm trying to get you to be honest with me and for the first time in a long time, I think you are. You know, this might come as a surprise but I know a thing or two about love."

"Really? You?" Nathan snorted.

"Yes, I do but that's neither here nor there at the moment." Clay tapped his pen. "Now Nate, I need to know, we had a plan to renew your contract, so what's the deal? The agency is still working on it but I need to know if plans have changed."

"I.. I don't know." Nathan answered after a moment of silence. "I love the game.. I do.. but somehow along the way.. things changed."

"You mean Haley?"

"Yes but it's more than that." Nathan shook his head. "Even before I found out about the pregnancy it hasn't been the same and I don't know maybe this baby is a sign."

"A sign of what?"

"That I need to start thinking things over." Nathan said softly. "I want to be part of my child's life but Haley is in Tree Hill and I'm here .. I can't just ask her to uproot her life and come here."

"Why not?"

"I told you, I hurt her enough."

"What did you to do her exactly?" Clay asked curiously.

Nathan didn't want to relieve old wounds but Clay had a point. Clay needed to know. If he wanted Haley to trust in him again then he would need all the help he could get. "You know how I was supposed to play at Duke?"

Clay nodded.

"Well Haley was going to follow me but as you know, it didn't work out and when I left for Maryland, I broke up with her. I didn't want her to follow me, she already sacrificed her dream school to go to Duke and I couldn't let her do that again. She deserved more, she still deserves more." Nathan said softly.

"I'm sorry, Nate." Clay leaned forward. "We'll keep working with the Sonics to get you a deal, but you and Haley need to figure things out."

"I know, I plan on going back to Tree Hill tomorrow, I got the weekend free."

"Smart move, who knows how Alex might take the news.. ehh forget Alex, I'm more worried about Miranda."

"Clay, I don't need to tell you what's at stake here."

"Don't worry, I know."

Just then, Clay's phone went off and he picked it up. "Hello… okay.. send her in." Clay hung up the phone and turned to Nathan.

"Show time."

. . . . .

She told them her visiting Nathan at the hospital after the accident, her random hook up with Nathan, how she went to San Francisco with Lucas to tell Nathan, how Nathan followed her back to Tree Hill. How Julian was beyond pissed and still wasn't talking to her. By the end of it all, Haley was in near tears, her emotions getting the best of her.

Peyton and Brooke were at her sides, trying their best to soothe her.

"I'm sorry to be such a mess but with the pregnancy and then telling Nathan and then Lucas, then Julian found out and my mom .. I .."

"Shhh!" Peyton spoke up. "It's okay Hales."

"Yeah Hales, it's a lot to take in." Brooke added.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner but it was just too much to admit it to myself… telling Nathan alone was so hard."

"Hales, it's okay. We understand." Peyton added.

"But Nathan, Hales?" Brooke questioned.

"Brooke not now." Peyton chided.

"No it's okay." Haley composed herself. "Look, whatever you're thinking of, don't think I didn't think of it too. It's Nathan for crying out loud."

"How does he feel about it?" Peyton asked.

"He was shocked.. but actually really supportive."

"Really?" Brooke couldn't believe it.

"He apologized for everything and wants to be a part of this baby's life."

"Are we talking about the same Nathan Scott who left you high and dry with not so much as a care in the world?" Brooke replied.

"Brooke.." Peyton warned again.

"I'm sorry Hales, I'm just trying to figure him out, he comes into town knocks you up and expect the three of you to be one big happy family."

"Brooke, just because I'm having his baby doesn't mean that Nathan and I are getting back together again."

"Well I would hope not since he's dating Alex DuPre." Brooke replied.

"Umm.. about that.." Haley spoke.

"Haley, what else aren't you telling us?" Peyton's eyebrows raised.

. . . . .

Alex came breezing through the hallway and entered Clay's office.

"Nathan .. Clay." Alex took a seat next to Nathan. "What's up?"

"Alex good to see you again." Clay smiled. "There's something we wanted to discuss with you."

"Yeah?"

"The thing is Alex, I don't think this is working out anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Nathan's been real busy lately and it's hard for him to go out with you and all your functions."

"So let me get this straight, you guys just used me and now your throwing me off to the side?" Alex was annoyed.

"No Alex, it's not like that. Shoot, Nathan doesn't even have a contract with the Sonics yet."

"Alex." Nathan finally spoke up. "As you know, I was against this from the start, I wanted to the Sonics to sign me because of me and my abilities not who I was going out with. I'm.. I'm sorry."

"And what about me?"

"Alex.." Clay piped in. "You're a talented actress before you met Nathan and you're still going to be a great actress."

"No.. something is wrong here." Alex shook her head.

"Alex.."

"Clay.. I'd like a minute with Nathan."

"But.."

"Clay, it's okay." Nathan turned to Clay.

"You sure?" Clay asked.

"Yeah."

Clay reluctantly got up and headed for the door.

"Now Nathan.." Alex stood up and started to pace across the office. "We've known each other for several weeks now.. I know we were putting on a show for the press but I'd like to think we are at least friends.., more than friends actually." Alex stood behind Nathan and put her hands on his broad shoulders.

. . . . .

"You guys can pick you jaws from up the floors now." Haley tried to joke.

Brooke and Peyton were once again stunned into silence.

"I don't know what to say." Peyton finally commented.

"For once I agree with you." Brooke added. "But I can't say I'm surprised, I know people in Hollywood do this all the time but Nathan?" Brooke shook her head.

"Yeah I know." Haley replied. "It was already hard enough to think of him with another woman but this, I don't know. All this does is make me worry.. worry about Nathan's celebrity and how it'll affect me and our baby."

"But he say's he's ending it right?" Peyton added.

"Yeah but that doesn't change anything."

"As much as I hate the guy, you guys do need to figure things out." Brooke added.

"I know, Nathan left a message, he's supposed to be coming to Tree Hill tomorrow."

"Really?" Brooke smirked and turned to Peyton.

"Whatever you two are thinking about, don't!" Haley warned. "Things are already complicated as it is."

"We're not going to do anything." Brooke sweetly replied.

"I mean if we happen to see him." Peyton added.

"Yeah." Brooke nodded. "I mean, wouldn't it be great if we just have a sleep over at your house Hales, it'll be like high school. We can catch up some more.."

"And if Nathan passes by tomorrow…" Peyton added.

"We can say hi to him." Brooke gave an evil grin.

. . . . .

"Now Nathan.." Alex stood up and started to pace across the office. "We've known each other for several weeks now.. I know we were putting on a show for the press but I'd like to think we are at least friends.., more than friends actually." Alex stood behind Nathan and put her hands on his broad shoulders.

"Okay?" Nathan got up from his seat and jumped over to the next one. He didn't like it when other people touched him.

"So I want to know? Why now?"

"Honestly, plans change. That's it Alex, I swear."

"I'm actually getting tired of the whole charade myself. I mean there's a lot of fish in the sea.. and well you're not biting." Alex smiled at him playfully. "But my manager will have a problem with that and you met Miranda. She's tough as nails but she gets the job done. I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for her."

"Okay, so what do you want Alex?"

"It's not about what I want, it's about getting Miranda both off our backs about canceling our arrangement."

"And how do we do that?"

"Well first you are going to tell me why your plans suddenly have changed?"

"Alex, it's personal."

"Like that personal trip you took to your home town a few weeks ago?" Alex smiled. "Don't let the pretty face fool you, I suspected something was up with you now what is it? If you want my help in ending this arrangement, you got to meet me half way."

Nathan studied Alex for a moment, unsure if he should tell her or not. But keeping the truth had only managed to hurt him.

"Fine, there's a girl.. and she's pregnant.. with my child."

Alex started laughing. "Really?"

"Alex, this isn't funny."

"No, I'm just surprised that's all."

"Yeah, you and me both."

"Don't tell me.. it was that girl you claimed was the masseuse?"

"…."

"Haha.. oh well at least she's hot." Alex shrugged. "I can't say I'm a little hurt Nate." Alex went to sit on his lap. "I mean, you go after some small town girl when I was here all along."

Nathan pushed his chair back and got up, distancing himself from Alex.

"She's more than just a small town girl."

"Well that explains it."

"Explains what?"

"You know, I couldn't figure you out but now I'm starting to see. I mean how many times have you turned me down? I thought you were gay or something." Alex laughed. "I actually thought that's why you needed my help."

"What?"

"I mean you and Clay seem pretty close."

"Alex.."

"Haha.. relax Nathan, I was just joking around. Geez, loosen up."

"So now you know, look I don't need to tell you what'll happen if the press finds out about this… they'll hound her and that won't be good for her or the baby." Nathan pleaded.

"You're right. "Alex nodded. But the thing is that I need to tell Miranda this."

"Alex, you can't."

"Wait, before you get your jockstrap in a bunch, I have an idea."

"What?"

"Miranda isn't just going to let this one go, to her you're just some guy who knocked some girl up and is screwing over her client. I on the other hand wouldn't mind going out and playing the field again. So that's why, I'm giving you this." Alex reached into her purse and gave Nathan a USB Flashdrive.

"What is this?"

"Inside you'll find a homemade movie?"

"Home made movie?"

"Of me and Chris Keller, from when I went to his concert. I went to the after party, had some cocktails, he sang to me and yeah.."

"Eww.." Nathan didn't need that mental image.

"The point is, we'll end our deal .. we won't say anything about the baby.. you won't leak my sex tape."

"Deal." Nathan smirked. "Let me tell Clay the plan."

"Wait, Nathan."

Nathan turned around.

"If this girl wasn't pregnant … did I have a shot?"

"Not for a second." Nathan smirked as he headed out of the office to grab Clay.

To Be Continued . .. .


	10. All That You Can't Leave Behind

The Search for Something More

Chapter 10 - All That You Can't Leave Behind

Thank you for all the feedback last chapter. Now, this chapter I had to cut up because it was so long and it's still long lol, which I hope you guys don't mind. I wrote this chapter and last chapter back to back. I'm still ironing out the next chapter so that should be up soon. Again flashbacks are in italics. I do a little time jump here from the last chapter. Now reminder, OTH is back on the air and please let your voices be heard, we want a season 8 !! I went to Dollar Tree and was able to purchase a handful of small basketballs which will be promptly sent to the CW starting tomorrow. I encourage everyone to go out and do the same and show your support. It's cheap and the postage isn't that much either.

Thanks for reading and please review!

. . . . . .

_Nathan peered through the door way and saw Haley walking down the isle. He waited in the shadows until she was close by, then he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into the empty classroom. Before she can make a sound of protest, he kissed her. Instantly her mouth melted into his but just as quickly, she pulled away to berate._

"_Nathan!" Haley exclaimed. "I told you to stop doing that."_

"_You know you love it." He smirked as he leaned down to kiss her again. But this time, Haley had some control and moved her head around so that his lips missed her._

"_Hey!" He protested._

"_Now is there a particular reason why you dragged me in here or did you just want to maul me?" Haley pointed her finger at him._

"_Actually, there is." He took her hand and pulled her close to him, then pressing his lips on hers for a quick kiss. "I need a favor."_

"_A favor huh?" Haley eyed him suspiciously. His favors usually ended up with the two of them in a long make out session, not that she minded or anything._

"_Yep." Nathan nodded. "I need help doing some research."_

"_Research?" Haley was surprised. "Nathan Scott, actually caring about school work?"_

"_Not for school.. for the coach?"_

"_Huh?"_

"_I need to find out how many games the coach has won."_

"_Okay because?"_

"_Because I think he wants to retire on us." _

"_What I don't get it?" _

"_Come on, I'll explain on the way but we're going to need your computer." Nathan took a hold of Haley's hand and led them to his car. A couple of minutes later, they were heading up the front steps to Haley's house._

"_So let me get this straight.. Whitey wants to retire when he reaches 500 wins?"_

_Nathan nodded. "Yep and I think he's close to that number."_

"_But then that would mean he would be retiring soon."_

"_Exactly. And nothing would make my dad happier than to see Whitey go so that way he can coach the Ravens and make my life even worse." _

"_Now we can't have that can't we?" Haley leaned up to kiss him on the cheeks._

"_No we can't." Nathan replied. "I but heads with coach all the time but shoot I guess he's cool. As much as he yells at me at practice, It's still nothing like my dad. Actually he's the only person I've seen stand up to Dan." Nathan looked down._

"_Are things that bad with your father?"_

"_It's nothing I can't handle." Nathan shrugged it off and took her hand and Haley led him inside her house._

"_Well.. well is this Haley James in my house between the hours of 8 am and midnight?" Jimmy teased as he saw Haley enter through the front door._

"_Ha-ha dad." Haley deadpanned._

"_Nathan, good to see you."_

"_You too Mr. James." Nathan replied politely. _

"_Nice to see you use the front door this time." Jimmy teased._

"_Oh don't mind him." Lydia piped in. "Come on Jimmy, leave the kids alone."_

"_Thanks mom." Haley replied. "We're going to be upstairs to do some research for school." Haley added as she and Nathan started to ascend the stairs. _

"_It better not be any anatomy and physiology you're researching.. got that Nathan!?" Jimmy playfully warned and Lydia rolled her eyes._

"_Jimmy, would you get over here and help me out in the back yard." Lydia grabbed Jimmy by the arm._

"_Sorry about that." Haley mumbled. Her parents were such characters sometimes._

_Nathan chuckled. He found Mr. and Mrs. James surprisingly cool. When he told Haley that, she looked at him as if he had a second head. The James household was always loud and full of bickering but it was never malicious or mean spirited like how it was in his own household. He welcomed the change.. craved it. Haley not only helped his grades out or offered an ear to talk to, she did more than that. She gave him something to look forward to, stability… love. _

. . . . .

Nathan got into his rental car and looked at his watch and was glad it was still early. He couldn't believe that it had been six weeks since Nathan was back in Tree Hill. He was supposed to come back a month ago for the weekend but plans with the teams changed. The Sonics were doing well but they still weren't a shoe in for play offs and Nathan found himself wishing that the season would just end already. He had to attend extra mandatory practices as well as extra check ups to make sure his back was okay. Needless to say, a trip to Tree Hill was out of the question. The good thing was that Alex had agreed to end their arrangement. Apparently she was also tired of having her agent Miranda bossing her around. But Miranda was still a pretty damn good agent and persistent, Alex knew that Miranda wouldn't give in without a fight but Alex had a wild card in her back pocket. In exchange for ending their arrangement, Alex agreed not to mention the baby to the press and Nathan would not release the sex tape of her and Chris Keller. The plan seemed simple enough but Miranda was absolutely livid and forced. Nathan was glad that he wouldn't have to deal with her again and although they knew that he was going to be a father, they didn't know who it was. Alex met her briefly at the hotel but she didn't know her name so at least Haley was safe.

Haley didn't seem at all surprised when he told her that he couldn't make it. She was probably expecting it and he already broke a promise to himself that he wouldn't miss a doctor's appointment. Haley had one a few weeks ago that he missed but he was at least able to come in today. He hadn't seen Haley in weeks and he wondered how big their baby had gotten. He spoke to Lucas over the past few weeks and things were going better with him at least. Although Lucas did sound disappointed when he couldn't make it to Tree Hill. That hurt. At least his dad stopped hounding him. It seemed like Dan kept calling Nathan's phone 24/7 but the calls had stopped and he just hoped that Dan grew tired and just gave up. He was worried that Dan may have found out about the pregnancy but Haley nor Lucas hadn't said anything about it so he was thankful for that.

Nathan tried to shake away such thoughts as he approached the cemetery. He got out of his rental and started walking around. Nathan stopped and studied the old man for a second, not wanting to intrude in something he knew was very personal. Nathan didn't know where he lived now but he wondered if he still kept the tradition of visiting her. He was pleasantly surprised to see he still went. Nathan stayed off to the side as he watched the elderly man make his way back to his car.

"I must be getting senile." Whitey commented as he saw Nathan standing from the distance.

"You are senile coach." Nathan smirked as he walked towards his old mentor.

"Well, I'll be damned, Nathan Scott back in Tree Hill."

"Hey coach." The two shared a quick hug.

"I didn't know where you lived but I wanted to see you. I knew I'd find you here."

Whitey looked back down on the grave of his wife then back to Nathan. "There's no where else I'd rather be." Whitey gave a sad smile. "It's been what, three years since I saw you?"

"Yeah, right after I signed with the Sonics." After Nathan was drafted, the only person he contacted from his old life was his coach. Dan was still pissed at him for leaving Maryland and after seeing Lucas and Haley moving on with their lives at the book signing, there was no one left but his former coach. His own mother was battling her own demons to pay attention to her only son.

"I'm sorry I haven't been in touch more.."

"Well I guess that's the life of an NBA player.. So what brings you back into town?" Whitey asked as the two started to walk.

"Family actually."

"Uh oh." Whitey joked. "No offense Nathan, but your family is why I moved out of Tree Hill." He laughed. "After Danny was elected mayor, I knew the whole town must've gone nuts."

Nathan chuckled. "No, I'm not here to see my dad.. the truth is coach.. I'm.. I'm going to be a father myself."

"What?"

"I'm going to be a dad." Nathan smiled warmly.

"Well, I be damned. Who's the unfortunate girl?" Whitey joked.

"It's umm.. Haley."

"Haley? Haley James?"

Nathan nodded.

"You know somehow I'm not surprised."

Nathan gave a warm smile.

"Well, I'm glad you finally got your head out of your ass and finally made things right with Haley. For the life of me I still don't know why you two broke up in the first place."

"Um.. coach, Haley and I .. we .. we aren't together."

"But you two are having a kid?"

"Yeah but.. it's not like that." Nathan looked down.

"You crazy kids." Whitey shook his head.

"I know I hurt Haley in the past coach .. lately that's all I've managed to do. She got pregnant because I stopped by Tree Hill a couple of months back, we were both drunk and yeah." Nathan trailed off, still looking down.

"Oh Nathan.." Whitey shook his head in disappointment.

"I didn't force myself onto her if that's what you're thinking.. but now we're having a kid and .. I don't .. I don't know what to do. I've been trying to make things right but it seems like I take one step forward but take two steps back."

"Well I can't tell you what to do.. but I can tell you what not to do. Does Lucas ring a bell?"

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, I know. I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to abandon my child like how Dan did to Lucas."

"Well I guess that's a step in the right direction." Whitey stopped and shook his head. "You know Nathan, Camilla and I, we never had kids. She was taken from me before we had the chance. You got yourself a good thing here Nathan. You and Haley always reminded me of Camilla and I .. you can try to fool this old man but I know son, I know that she's it for you so don't let her go. I know how dumb you Scott boys can be but I also know that you have the potential to be great."

Nathan smiled. "Thanks coach. I wish it was as simple as that. I hurt Haley.. I hurt her bad. I don't want to hurt her again."

"Good, then don't." Whitey chuckled.

Nathan couldn't help but laugh as well. "I wish it was as easy at that. I love Haley.. God I do but like I said, I already hurt her enough and more than anything I want her to be happy."

"And you don't make her happy?"

Nathan shook his head. "Just the opposite."

"Well this doesn't sound like the Nathan Scott I know?"

"Huh?"

"The Nathan I knew was fearless, he went after the things he wants. Look son, do you know how long it took for Camilla to agree to marry me… three times."

"What?"

"I asked her three times to get married .. let me tell you that was something else. But we were young and she was scared. Her father breathing down my neck didn't make things easy, nor my own parents but I loved Camilla too much to just let her go so I waited and proposed and proposed again and finally she just needed time to see that we were meant to be together." Whitey smiled at the memory. "Look Nathan, despite what happened between you and Haley, you guys are going to be parents, that has to mean something and if you don't try then you'll never know. Let Haley make her choice."

"But what if she doesn't want me."

"Then if you really do love her and want her to be happy, then you'll let her go."

Nathan nodded in agreement. He knew seeing Whitey would be a good idea. Whitey had always given it to him straight, whether he was yelling at him during practice or praising him after games. Whitey would always be the second father he never had.

"You know coach, you were wrong."

"Huh?"

"You may not have any children biologically but I've always looked up to you as a father and my child will see you as a grandparent as well."

Whitey smiled, trying his best to suppress his emotions.

"It's not just me coach, it's every player you coached and inspired."

"You know, you're not my player anymore, you can stop sucking up to me." Whitey joked as he tried to maintain his composure. Even in his old age, he didn't want to be seen as a softy. "You know it was talk like that that kept me coaching for another year… I was supposed to be done at 500."

"Sorry coach." Nathan laughed as he remembered how he helped Whitey see that coaching was more than just basketball but of helping boys become men. "But you did end up winning more than 500 games and a state championship as I recall." Nathan joked back.

Whitey chuckled and the two continued to walk. An arrangement of purple flowers caught Nathan's attention. His eyes grew even wider as he saw the name on the tombstone. _No, it couldn't be_.

Whitey followed Nathan's line of sight and saw the tombstone. "He was a good man, I coached him too you know, him and all his boys. It's a shame your baby will never be able to meet his grand-daddy." Coach commented.

"Mr James??" Nathan mumbled.

. . . . . . .

Haley stepped out of her mother's hospital room and headed towards the elevator. Her doctor's appointment was soon and she was anxious. Depending on the position of the baby, she would find out the sex. She hoped Nathan would be here for that. So far, he hasn't called to say that he couldn't make it. When he didn't show up before, she was a little disappointed but not surprised. Although she did believe Nathan was trying, she still set her sights low. If she didn't expect too much from him then she wouldn't be let down.

The elevator doors opened and Haley was shocked.

"Brooke, Peyton? What're you doing here?" Haley asked surprised as she hugged her two friends.

"Well we spoke to Lucas and he told us that he was busy and that you had your doctor's appointment." Peyton replied.

"Yeah and since he who shall not be named was a no show the last time, we figure we couldn't let you do this solo." Brooke piped in.

"Yeah, Haley, we want to be here for you."

"Aww guys." Haley smiled, her eyes getting a little watery. She had been an emotional roller coaster as of late. "You didn't have to."

"Don't sweat it." Brooke shrugged it off. "Plus I hear your doctor is hot."

"Brooke!" Peyton scolded.

"What?" Brooke rolled her eyes.

"Well Dr. Anderson is a little older than us but he is cute." Haley added.

"See!" Brooke stuck her tongue out at Peyton.

"Yeah and his wife thinks so too." Haley added with a chuckle.

"Haha, see!" Peyton mocked and stuck her own tongue back at Brooke.

"But guys, seriously. It's okay. Nathan said he'll be here."

Peyton and Brooke looked at each other.

"Right." Brooke said sarcastically as she looped her arm around Haley and dragged her in the elevator.

"No guys, I'm serious. He should actually be here now."

"Did he say that?" Peyton asked.

"Well he hasn't called me yet but he left me a message last night."

"Umm.. how do we say this Hales.. we won't believe it until we see him." Brooke mocked. For Brooke, she trusted Nathan as far as she could throw him.

. . . .

_Haley was on the computer still doing her research while Nathan was in the background talking on his cell phone._

"_You know a little help would be nice." Haley teased as she turned her computer chair to face him._

"_Sorry." Nathan put his phone away. "But that was Brooke."_

"_Brooke?"_

"_So the Sparkle Classic is coming up." _

"_Yeah and?"_

"_How would you like to go?"_

"_But I thought all the spots are filled?"_

"_Well they are but if you're part of the basketball team or cheerleading squad then you can go." Nathan took Haley's hand and pulled her up to him._

"_Well in case you haven't noticed, I'm neither." Haley joked as she ran her hand up his broad chest and around his neck._

"_Brooke was able to get you in.. as a cheerleader." _

"_What?" Haley pulled back. "Are you crazy, I'm a total klutz, there's no way I can be a cheerleader?"_

_Nathan laughed. "You're not a cheerleader per say.. Brooke put you down as a back up in case one of the girls gets sick or has an accident."_

"_So like a stand in?"_

"_Yeah exactly, you're not actually going to cheer, although seeing you in a cheerleading outfit would be pretty hot." Nathan smirked._

"_You would think so huh?" Haley flirted back, loving how Nathan can make her feel so happy, carefree.. sexy. She never thought herself in that way but God the things Nathan made her feel. It was both scary and exciting. _

"_Yep.. and so how are we doing with Whitey?"_

"_Well it turns out that you are right.. Whitey's 500__th__ win is soon."_

"_How soon?"_

"_When's your next game?"_

"_Damn, you serious?" _

"_Yep."_

"_Okay thanks for your help Hales." Nathan leaned down and kissed her forehead. "But I got to talk to Whitey."_

"_What're you going to say?"_

"_I don't know yet but he can't retire.. not now." Nathan shook his head. "In the mean time, you just need to get your parents to sign the permission form, letting you attend the Classic." Nathan reached for his bag and pulled out the form._

"_Have you been planning this all along?" Haley took the paper from him._

"_Maybe." Nathan smirked as he started to gather his things._

"_Oh no you don't. You can't leave now." _

"_Yeah, what do you have in mind?" Nathan wiggled his eyebrows and pulled her back to him._

"_Down boy." Haley playfully slapped his chest. "No, you want me to go .. I'm going to need your help."_

"_Help? I already got Brooke to let you in."_

"_I'm talking about my parents.. I'm sure they're going to love the fact that I'm going to be gone for the weekend with my boyfriend." _

"_But it's a school trip."_

"_Even so.. I mean it's not like I do these sort of things.. you're the first real relationship I've had and .. I don't .. I don't know what they'll say." Haley said nervously. "I really do want to go but can.. can you just be there when I ask my parents."_

"_Sure." Nathan smiled. "How about now?"_

_Haley smiled and tip toed up to give him a quick kiss._

"_I want you to know that if they say yes, I'll go." _

_Nathan smiled as leaned down and kissed her again. Taking her hand, he led her down the stairs._

"_Mom? Dad? Haley called out._

"_In the kitchen Haley!"_

"_Ahh, Nathan.. Haley.. you two hungry?_

" _Actually, can we just talk to you and dad?"_

" _Are you pregnant?" Lydia asked bluntly._

"_What!?" Haley asked shocked._

"_Pregnant, with child, bun in the oven."_

" _Mom!"_

_Nathan was taken aback, he wasn't expecting that. No wonder Haley asked him to be here._

"_Where's dad?" _

_Lydia turned around and yelled through the window. "Jimmy! Kitchen! Haley's pregnant!" _

"_So, to what do we owe this surprise?" Jimmy asked as he entered the house, amused by his wife's antics. "I've seen my baby twice today." He joked. _

"_Well, we wanted to talk to you daddy." Haley said sweetly._

"_Daddy? This is gonna be expensive."_

_Haley takes a deep breath. "Not really." Haley did know that the trip to go to the classic would be about $150.00 to cover housing and transportation. "Ok, look. You guys know that I am an extremely cautious person…I go to school.. and I work and I've been saving for a new car and I consider things from every angle and I don't just, like, jump into things."_

"_Like getting to the point of this conversation?" Lydia interrupts._

"_The team is going away to Charlotte for the weekend and I need your permission to go." Haley finally lets out._

"_A weekend away… out of state?" Lydia questions suspiciously. _

"_And team as in basketball team?" Jimmy questions as he turns to look at Nathan and both he and Haley are little nervous._

"_Mr. and Mrs. James …I think you also know that I respect both of you very much.."_

_Before Nathan could say anymore but Lydia and Jimmy start laughing their heads off. Both Haley and Nathan look on confused._

"_Mom! Dad! Can you just be serious for one minute in my life?" _

"_Oh sorry honey.." Lydia replied as her and Jimmy tried to suppress their laughter. "We were just teasing. Of course you can go."_

"_Really?" Haley's eyes light up._

"_Yes, honey.. enjoy yourself and just don't get arrested or knocked up." Jimmy teases._

_Haley gives her parents a quick hug and then turns to Nathan._

"_Now that that's settled. I gotta head over to Marion's to show her this article." Lydia grabs a newspaper from the counter and leaves._

"_See you had nothing to worry about." Nathan whispers to Haley. "I'm gonna go see Whitey."_

"_Okay." Haley nods. "I gotta call Brooke!" Haley gives him a quick kiss before racing up the stairs._

_Nathan is about to leave, "Nathan wait."_

"_Yeah Mr. James?"_

"_Now this trip… you and I know how these over night trips can get.. well out of hand."_

"_Mr. James, I love your daughter, I'd never do anything to hurt her or do anything she doesn't want to do."_

_Jimmy smiles and nods. "That's what I want to hear." Jimmy pats Nathan on the back._

"_You know she's my last one.. my baby."_

"_I'll take good care of her sir."_

"_You know, Lydia and I had good feeling about you ever since Haley introduced you to us… I know you will." Jimmy gives Nathan a warm smile._

. . . . . .

With his usual baseball cap and sunglasses, Nathan strolled through the hospital on his way to see Haley. His mind however was still reeling over the fact that Haley's father was dead. He wasn't expecting that. A sharp pain coursed through his body as he imagined how Haley felt. Jimmy died just after they finished their first year of college. He didn't know what was more shocking, the fact that he had died or that it took him this long to find out. How come no one told him? Oh that's right he cut everyone who ever mattered to him out of his life. He avoided his dad like the plague and his mom was in and out of rehab so much, he doubted she knew what the year was. God, he felt like crap. Jimmy was a good man, a great father, he couldn't believe it. He could only imagine what Haley went through and how he wished he could've been there for her. But he wasn't and hasn't been in a long time.

Before Nathan could go any further, he felt a pair of arms grab him and onto in empty waiting room.

"What the?" Nathan muttered as he turned around and found his kidnappers. His heart sank as he saw Peyton and Brooke standing in front of him, their arms crossed and their eyes shooting daggers at him. He knew it wouldn't be long before he saw the terrible two-some. Lucas had already told him that they knew and as he suspected, they weren't happy. Quite frankly, the two of them together could be quite intimidating even to one Nathan Scott.

"You have some nerve!" Brooke spat out before Nathan could say anything and walked right up to him and smacked him as hard as she could.

"Fuck, Brooke what the hell!?"

"Are you serious?" Brooke waved her hands in front of him. "You have the nerve to knock up one of my best friends and just abandon her."

"I didn't abandon her."

"Oh that's right, you had your precious basketball." Brooke was livid. Five years of pent up anger came coursing through her body. "Do you have any idea what you put that poor girl through?"

"Brooke.." Peyton tried to sooth her friend. As angry as she was with Nathan, she could see the defeated look on his face and the last thing she wanted was for Haley to catch them. "Haley's going to come back from the bathroom soon, she wouldn't want this."

Brooke narrowed her eyes at Nathan but she knew Peyton was right. "You're just lucky Haley's going to be here soon but.."

"I know!" Nathan interrupted. "I know okay. I'm a miserable excuse of a person. Yes, I said it." Nathan shook his head. He was about to lose it too. "I know saying sorry for what I did to Haley or to any of you won't make things right but I am, I'm sorry." Nathan turned around and rubbed his cheeks. "Haley's lucky to have you.. both of you. She deserves people who'll be there for her."

"And can't you see that's not you?" Brooke fired back.

"Brooke not now." Peyton warned just in time for Haley to come walking in.

"Is everything okay?" Haley looked on suspiciously. She knew her two friends were up to something, the fake smiles they had on could attest to that.

"Everything's just fine." Brooke smiled on. "We were just saying hi to Nathan."

"Yeah." Nathan flashed a smile then looked at Haley. She was stunning as always and wow her boobs, they had definitely grown since the last time he saw her but as his eyes raked further down, he felt confused.

"What?" Haley shifted uncomfortably, did she have something on her face or something.

"Nothing, it's just.. you look the same since I last saw you." Nathan commented.

"Boys!" Brooke rolled her eyes as Peyton went over to Haley and lifted up her flowy top up, a skin tight shirt which hugged her very swollen belly.

Nathan's eyes grew wide as he saw how big it had become. Pretty soon, no amount of loose clothes could hide the fact that Haley is pregnant.

"Oh that explains it." Nathan replied, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Umm.. are you ready to go?" Haley asked and Nathan nodded.

"Thank you guys for coming but.."

"Haley, we understand." Peyton went up to her and hugged her. "You guys go on ahead, and Haley, we'll catch up to you later."

"Yeah Hales, fill us in on everything afterwards." Brooke hugged her next. Brooke gave Nathan another mean look while Peyton just nodded at him and the two left.

Haley turned to face Nathan . "I hope those two.."

"It's fine Haley, it's nothing I wasn't expecting.. or deserved."

"You sure everything is okay?" Haley asked. She was glad Nathan was here for their child but something felt off about him and she had a feeling it wasn't due to Peyton or Brooke.

"Yeah.. just.. a long flight." Nathan tried to plaster on a smile. "I'm sorry, I was only able to come now."

"Nathan, you don't need to apologize. I understand.. Nathan really. It's not a big deal."

"Because you were expecting it right?"

"Nathan, let's not fight please. Don't make this a big deal, you couldn't come the last time, it's not the end of the world."

"You're right, I'm .. I'm sorry." Nathan mumbled.

"Okay, now then, I have a surprise for you?" Haley tried to sound upbeat. She needed to get over her uneasiness every time Nathan was around. She was tired of walking around on egg shells when it came to him. Just because he had hurt her didn't mean that they couldn't be civil.

"Oh?"

"Well, if the baby is in the right spot, we can find out the sex."

"Really?"

"Yep.. I mean that's if you want to know."

"No I mean.. I'm good either way.. up to you Hales."

"Ok good.. cuz I sort of want to know." Haley smiled and Nathan couldn't help but smile back. God she was beautiful, more than that, she was radiant.

"Dr. Anderson's waiting, now come on dad." Haley tried to keep the mood light and headed towards the hallway. However, images of Jimmy popped back in his head and that sharp pain returned in his gut and he wondered if it would ever go away.

To Be Continued . . . .

Next Chapter: Sex of the baby revealed as well as other surprises lol.


	11. Resolve

The Search For Something More

Chapter 11 - Resolve

Thanks for those who read last chapter, I hope you guys are still interested in the story. Like I said, last chapter ran a little long, this chapter picks right back up from the last one. Thanks to Kelly for beta-ing. I hope you enjoy and please review.

Also please check out my one shot "You Can't Be Here," an extension of last Monday's episode. Although I expected more, I was glad to finally here some real talk about a baby naley #2.

. . . . .

"Haley, Nathan, good to see you again." Dr. Anderson greeted the two. Haley was already settled on the examining table with Nathan sitting right beside her.

Haley wondered what was up with Nathan because he seemed different. She couldn't explain it, but maybe it was something that Brooke or Peyton said to him. She loved her friends but they were also very protective over her, especially when it came to Nathan. They were the only ones she told about the pregnancy. The loose tops and flowy dresses helped her conceal her pregnancy but pretty soon it would be no use. Haley had no choice but admit to the world that she was pregnant. She didn't tell her family because she knew they couldn't keep a secret for the life of them and she had been hesitant on telling her mom. But now her mom was doing better and she was going to tell her soon. She just wondered how she would react.

She looked back to Nathan and he still had that worried look on his face. Maybe he was worried about the baby? She didn't know. But then again, before she told him she was pregnant, it had been five years since they were together. People grow up and they change. She told him before that she really didn't know him, maybe she was right. She tried to shake off such thoughts, all that mattered was the baby, She didn't need to get stressed about anything else.

The doctor lifted her gown and placed a cool liquid on top of her very swollen belly. At the site of Haley's belly, the sadness in Nathan's eyes momentarily lifted and a warm smile graced his face. He looked onto the screen and saw his baby, their baby. He was in awe, the baby had gotten so much bigger. His heart raced as he saw the little hands and feet move about. In a few short months their baby would be here, the thought made Nathan both excited and absolutely scared as shit.

"Now everything looks good." Dr. Anderson commented. "The baby is a little small so I suggest you get a little bit more rest Haley and feel free to eat away, of course stay away from the foods we discussed about."

Nathan mentally kicked himself in the butt. He wished he was here to be part of the pregnancy because lord knows how stubborn Haley can be. The girl was a work horse, but he lived on the other side of the country. He knew that Haley still helped out at the café and that she worked at the local school but it occurred to him that he really didn't know what Haley did. Sure they talked over the past few weeks so Nathan can check up on her but the conversations were always short and to the point. It was no wonder he didn't know about her dad.

"Now, Haley and Nathan, you guys are almost five months along, I'm wondering if you would like to know the sex of the baby?"

Nathan and Haley turned to each other. Nathan gave her a reassuring smile and Haley nodded back at the doctor.

"Ok then." The doctor started moving the probe. "Let's see if we can see the goods." He joked. Luckily, the baby woke up and shifted slightly, allowing the doctor to get a better view. He froze the image and pointed to the genitals. "Congratulations, you're having a boy."

"Really?!" Haley's face lit up as did Nathan's.

"A boy?!" Nathan muttered. He turned back to Haley and they both laughed and smiled at each other. All tension from earlier now gone as they now knew that they were going to have a bouncing baby boy.

"Thank you." Nathan took her hand in his and squeezed it and leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Thank you." He muttered again, as thoughts of his son came flooding through his mind. Haley was a little surprised by the contact but dismissed it. He was probably just as worked up as she was after finding out they were having a boy. For the rest of the appointment their hands were locked together and smiles all around.

. . . . . .

_"Finally.. some alone time." Nathan sighed as he opened the hotel door up and dragged Haley inside. They were in Charlotte for the weekend for the Sparkle Classic and he couldn't believe Whitey had them practice this morning. This was a weekend away not basketball camp and he'd been dying to have some alone time with his girlfriend._

_"__Whitey keeping you guys busy?" She teased._

"_Yeah, makes me wonder why I didn't let him just retire." He joked playfully. The truth was that he couldn't imagine a better coach. When he went to talk to Whitey, his suspicions were confirmed. Whitey said that he and his wife talked him retiring after 500 games and that Whitey should've never had hit that number because most coaches move on. They move on to bigger and better things and Whitey felt like he was stuck and his time as coach didn't mean anything. Nathan turned it around on him that even though he stayed, he still made a difference, at least to him and to the dozen of boys he's coached. _

"_Now, where were we?" Nathan smirked as he led them to the bed._

"_I don't know about you but I was heading back to my room to take a nap." Haley teased._

"_Oh no you don't." Nathan growled as he pulled her hard towards him, his lips crashing onto her's. Haley moaned at the contact and raked her fingers through his dark hair. He deepened the kiss and guided her on top of the bed. Nathan laid on top of her while Haley's hand started to roam his back._

"_Oh what the hell?!" _

_Nathan and Haley quickly pulled away and found Lucas covering his eyes with his hands._

_Haley turned a shade of red as the site of being caught making out with her boyfriend by her best friend slash half brother of said boyfriend. _

"_I'm blind!" Lucas exaggerated. _

"_Way to cock block, Pucas!" Nathan huffed annoyed as he rolled off of Haley. _

"_Hey behave." Haley warned playfully. Lucas and Nathan had come a long way from the start of the season when mutual hatred could best be described between the two but that didn't mean that they always played nice with each other._

"_Why don't you get a room?" Lucas tried to quell the need to throw up. It was already hard enough digesting that fact that Nathan and Haley are together but to see them going at it was too much for him._

"_We did get a room." Nathan rolled his eyes._

"_A room other than mine!" Lucas replied back._

"_Wait.. you two are rooming together?" Haley looked on between the two brothers, laughter escaping her lips. _

"_Whitey has a sick sense of humor." Nathan muttered._

"_I agree." Lucas replied as he walked around the bed and placed himself on the opposite Haley._

"_I think it's cute. You guys can do some brotherly bonding." Haley smiled and both of them grunted in protest._

"_Look at what I found at the book store in the lobby." Lucas offered Haley a book. _

_Nathan scrunched his face as Haley practically bolted from his side and was now ogling over some stupid book. _

"_Oh my God, I can't believe this came out already. You know I read the last one and it was really good." Haley began to skim through the pages._

"_Yeah yeah.. the stupid vampire got the girl and drove off in a stupid Volkswagon." Nathan rolled his eyes and took the book from Haley and tossed it back to Lucas. "Now, do you mind, we were in the middle of something." Nathan pulled Haley back to him._

_Haley and Lucas gave each other a weird look and then turned back to Nathan. _

"_Volvo babe, but aww you were listening." Haley teased as she gave a peck on the lips to Nathan. "But sorry babe, wrong book."_

"_Vampires Nathan? Really?" Lucas teased._

"_Your gay ass would know." Nathan bit back, wishing he just go away._

"_So this is where the party's at!?" Brooke cheerfully exclaimed as she entered the room. Nathan groaned in frustration and fell back onto the bed. _

"_What's wrong with him?" Brooke asked, looking at Nathan._

"_Long practice." Haley remarked and Lucas huffed._

"_He's just sore cuz I walked in on him and Haley sucking face." Lucas scrunched his face._

"_Kinky." Brooke smirked. "Do tell."_

"_Brooke!" Haley protested._

_Nathan sat up. "Yeah Brooke, why are you here? Why are you all here?!?" Nathan complained like a little kid who's play time was cut short._

"_Geez, someone's a little grumpy." Brooke teased as she took a seat on a nearby chair._

"_Haley.. there you are!!" Peyton came charging into the room._

_Nathan looked up. "Are you serious!?" _

_Peyton look at Nathan for a second but decided to ignore it, her news couldn't wait._

"_What's up Peyton?" Haley asked._

"_You'll never guess who's singing the National Anthem for the start of the tournament!?" Peyton looked to Haley._

"_Oh God, not another emo rockband." Brooke feigned throwing up. _

"_Shut up!" Peyton narrowed her eyes at Brooke and then turned back to Haley. "It's Chris Keller!"_

"_Chris Keller?! You serious?" Haley was excited._

"_Alright that's it!!" Nathan stood up, fed up with everyone in his room. "I don't care what books they're selling downstairs or who's singing tomorrow.. or who the hell Brooke slept with today.."_

"_HEY!" Brooke protested._

"_But all of you need to get out NOW!!" Nathan's voice boomed, leaving no room for argument._

"_Fine." Everyone started to mumbled as they all headed out of the room._

_Nathan scratched his head and sighed as he watched everyone go, including his girlfriend. _

"_Haley not you!!" _

_. . . . . _

"I can't believe we're having a boy." Haley muttered as the two stepped out of the examining room.

"I know, it's pretty wild." Nathan nodded his head and looked back down at the sonogram in his hand. "We're having a boy."

"It doesn't get old saying it huh?"

"Nope." Nathan said proudly. "Look, he's already taking after me." Nathan pointed to the sonogram.

"You moron." Haley rolled her eyes. "That's the umbilical cord!"

"You sure? Cuz we Scott men are very well endo.."

"Stop right there!" Haley warned playfully.

Nathan chuckled. "What, you know it's true." He wiggled his eyes mischievously.

Haley turned red and started to get hot. She hated to admit that he was right but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

"Well now that you mentioned it, Lucas is.."

"Stop!" Nathan's stomach turned and Haley couldn't help but laugh.

"Of course, I was momentarily blinded but from what I saw, I guess.."

"You made your point!" Nathan interrupted and Haley chuckled.

"Listen about what the doctor said.."

"Don't worry Nathan, I'll make sure to take it easy."

"Ok good." Nathan nodded and looked at his watch. "Now, how do you feel about grabbing some lunch?" Nathan looked on hopefully. Things were going really great with them and he'd kick himself in the butt if he didn't take the opportunity to have a real chat with Haley.

"I don't know." Haley looked down.

"Come on, anything you want .. pizza.. Chinese.. mac and cheese." He teased and Haley's stomach started to grumble.

"Okay fine, you got me, I'm actually starving."

"You know any places near here?"

"Actually, the cafeteria here isn't that bad."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah.. plus I'm really hungry … come on." Haley led them to the cafeteria.

Nathan was surprised. Haley was right, this place was very modern and offered a wide variety of cuisine, to which Haley wasted no time in filling up her tray. Nathan looked on in shock to see the assortment of food that filled her tray. There was a junior cheeseburger, a slice of pizza, a side of pasta, a chocolate brownie, prunes and a side of guacamole.

"What?" Haley asked as Nathan looked at her as if she were crazy.

"Nothing, whatever makes you happy." Nathan replied as he went to pay for their food. The doctor told her to go eat.

"Nathan.." Haley tried to protest.

"Haley, it's just food for our boy.. please just let me pay for this."

"Fine." Haley huffed. There was no point in arguing with him, especially about something as trivial as this.

"And here, you can hold our drinks… I'll carry the tray."

Haley was about to say something but decided to just let Nathan have this. Besides, all the food she got was heavy and she didn't feel like carrying the tray.

"We can sit outside." Haley offered. It was a little cool out but the sun was shining and spring was right around the corner. It was also much more private out there was well as nicer. The last thing they both wanted was for someone to see them and recognize Nathan.

"This place is nice." Nathan commented at the garden around them and sat in area that was warmed up by the sun.

"Yeah, that's what Peyton and Brooke said when they came here." Haley started grabbing her food and to Nathan's disgust, she watched as she put the prunes on her burger and pizza.

"Don't look at me like that, blame our son."

Nathan smiled. "Say it again?"

"What?"

"Our son." He added with a smirk and he started to take a bite of the slice of pizza he ordered. Haley smiled back.

"So Hales, what subject do you teach?"

"Teach?"

"Yeah, you said you work at the school right?"

"Oh yeah, I do but I'm not a teacher.. at least not yet."

"Oh?"

"I'm a student teacher but the staff is a little short so I run study hall. I know it's not the most exciting but the kids come in, they sit and study and I help them out when they ask for help."

"Sounds like something up your alley." Nathan smiled knowingly.

"Yeah, it will be nice to get a class room of my own."

"Yeah, why is that?" Nathan asked. "I thought by now, you'd be like principal."

Haley gave a tight smile. She wasn't ready to quite divulge the knowledge that she hadn't finished college yet or the reasons behind it. "I got behind on some of my requirements." Haley said vaguely.

"Really?" Nathan questioned. "I thought with a school like Stanford, you'd have all the requirements you needed."

"Yeah, well I had some stuff come up."

"Stuff?" Nathan questioned.

"Yeah.. stuff." Haley was feeling a little uncomfortable with the interrogation.

"What kind of stuff?"

"I don't know.. stuff." Haley looked down at her food, suddenly not feeling as hungry.

"Personal stuff? .. Family.." Nathan said the last part softly.

Images of her missing Nathan during her freshmen year came flashing back to her, how she struggled to meet friends and how lonely she felt as she tried to keep up with her work load, then after her father's death when her grades suffered or when her mom was diagnosed with cancer and Haley ended up leaving school before her last semester to take care of her mom.

"…"

"Hales.." Nathan said softly as he took her hand. "I know okay."

Haley started to panic. Did he find out about her mom and how the devil himself helped for her treatment?

"Know?"

"About Jimmy.. about your dad."

"Oh." Haley felt slightly relieved but she was still tensed. She pulled her hand back from his.

Nathan studied her as she stayed quiet. Obviously she wasn't going to be talking here. "I went to see Whitey earlier.. he was visiting Camilla."

Suddenly, Haley now knew why Nathan was acting so weird earlier.

"Yeah, she's buried not too far from my dad. I see Whitey sometimes." Haley really didn't want to talk about this.

"Haley, I'm sorry about your dad.."

"It's okay Nathan. It was a long time ago."

"Not that long ago. I'm sorry I wasn't .."

"Don't!" Haley dropped her food on the plate. "Don't go there Nathan."

"Hales.. don't do this. I'm just trying to apologize here."

"That's the thing Nathan, I know you're sorry and maybe you do mean it but it doesn't change anything."

"It can Haley. .I'm sorry I wasn't there .. I'm sorry that you don't trust me to tell me about Jimmy."

"Nathan, I tried calling you, writing you for months after we broke up. You're the one that cut me off!"

"I know."

"No Nathan, you don't!" Haley said with tears forming in her eyes.

"Then tell me."

"Nathan, don't do this."

"Haley, we need to get passed this.. we're having a son for crying out loud."

"There's nothing to get passed Nathan." Haley shook her head. "I was the one who had to travel across the country and start at a new school with out you.. when I was lonely and tried calling you, you didn't pick up or when my dad had a heart attach and suddenly passed away, you weren't there. When I needed you Nathan, you were never there and now you're back and you say you're sorry and I'm trying to believe you because the last thing I want is for my son to look for his father and you won't be there!"

Haley took a deep breath and looked Nathan in the eye. "Don't ruin this Nathan. Everything in me is telling me that your full of shit but I have to believe your not as cruel as your own dad to do that to your own son."

"Haley.. no.. I'll never.. I love our son already so much. I can't wait to meet him."

"You sure?"

"Yes, Hales.. I love him so much." He moved closer to her and placed his hand on her stomach. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you Haley. I can't apologize enough but I won't abandon our son.. or you again. I love you both too much for that."

"You what?" Haley stuttered.

Nathan took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. "Haley, I love you. I've always loved you."

"Don't Nathan." Haley pushed him off of her.

"I'm tired of running from my feelings Haley, I love you, I love our son. I want us to be together.. like a real family."

"You have got to be kidding me." Haley stood up and wiped her mouth.

"Haley.."

"Nathan.. you are this kid's father and I will not deny you being a part of his life but that's as much as I can give you."

"I know it'll take time Haley but I love you.. I'll wait for as long as it takes."

Haley gathered her things and looked at him in the eye. "Don't waste your time." Haley wiped her eyes and started walking away.

Everything inside him told him to go after her but she was very emotional right now and he didn't want to add to her stress. Like he told her, he knew it was going to take time but he was going to try.. and succeed. He thought he hurt her too much for her to open her heart back up to him. He had wrestled about this for weeks… years but he was tired of it all. For too long he let life pass him by while the one thing he ever truly wanted slipped away, but not anymore, not after today. Not after he found out they were having a son. When he held her hand, he felt it, that spark, that energy that flowed through him every time he was around her. That's when he knew, knew that he didn't need to open her heart back up again. He was already there, he just needed to remind her.

. . . . .

Haley sat by the window and stared aimlessly out it. She heard footsteps behind her and found Lydia walking back in the room. The nurses took her away for some tests and now she was back.

"Haley-bop?" Lydia's voice was full of concern as she saw the tear streaks on her daugher's face.

"Hey mom, how'd everything go?" Haley tried to compose herself.

"Everything's fine." Lydia sat on a chair opposite Haley. "But I'm more concerned about you at the moment. What's going on Haley-bop?"

"There's something I need to tell you mom.. something I should've told you a long time ago."

"What? That you're pregnant?" Lydia gave a teasing smile.

"How.. how did you know?"

"Not to sound mean dear, but you've gained a few pounds and the clothes you've been wearing hid your stomach very well." Lydia gave her a wink. "You forget I've done the whole pregnancy thing a few times back in my day."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Haley said softly.

"It's okay Haley-bop. With my treatment and everything, I figured you were just waiting to tell me on your own time."

"Thank you mom for understanding.. it was already so hard to admit it to myself."

"Haley, you've been through so much.. but I'm so happy.. I just knew that you and Julian would find your way back together again."

"Mom.." Haley cleared her throat.

"It isn't Julian is it? Don't tell me that you and Lucas finally.."

"Eww… mom no! God you sound like Brooke." Haley shook her head.

Lydia paused. "It's him isn't it?"

"Huh?"

"It's Nathan huh? Nathan's the father?"

Haley nodded, not at all surprised that her mom guessed right. Her mom could read her like a book.

"Haley.." Lydia ran her fingers through her daughter's cheeks. "How far along are you?"

"Five months." Haley muttered and she winced at the wounded look her mom gave.

"Five months.." Lydia muttered back.

"I know, I'm sorry for keeping it from you for so long.."

"Five months and here I was dying and you couldn't even share the good stuff with me!"

"Mom!" Haley was taken aback.

"Haley, when you lived as long as I have and gone through everything I have.. you'll find that death isn't as scary as you think but since I'm still here I might as well make the most out of it and you my naughty little daughter have been keeping things from me. Now, is this why he and Alex DuPre broke up?"

Haley knew her mom spent too much time watching those entertainment shows.

"Actually.. they were never together." Haley muttered and then proceeded to tell her mom everything that had happened in the last couple of months.

"Wow." Lydia said softly. "Here I was wasting my time on the television when I could've just talked to you."

"Mom.. this is serious."

Lydia laughed. "Oh Haley-bop you know I'm teasing. Now you poor thing, so what does this mean.. you and Nathan?"

"I don't know mom. I want him to be a part of his son's life, I would never deny him that but today.. today he told me loves me. .that he's always loved me and wants us to be a family."

"Is that what you want Haley?"

"Yes.. no I don't know." Haley sniffled. "You know when we were together, I would picture me and Nathan together with a family of our own some day and it was nice you know.. but then after everything that's happened between us .. I .. I don't know. Every time I see him, I'm just reminded of how much he hurt me and I know he's sorry but that doesn't change anything."

"Oh my sweet Haley.. I know Nathan hurt you but it seems like he's trying to change.. to be better.. that has to count for something." Lydia hugged her daughter.

"Mom, how could you just say that, you know what he did to me?"

"I know dear, I remember and next time I see that boy, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind but take it from an old gal who reaches for her husband at night. What me and your father had was real and when he was taken away from me, it hurt.. hurt like hell and I would give anything to have him back. So I know Nathan hurt you but I also know how much you two loved each other and after 5 years look at you two now.. I don't know if Nathan's the one for you dear but you owe it to yourself to at least try."

Haley sat there, letting her mom hold her, comfort her as she took in her words.

. . . . . .

"You have some nerve!!" Miranda's voice boomed as she entered Clay's office.

"Sorry Mr. Evans, I tried to stop her." Clay's secretary said apologetically.

"It's okay." Clay closed out of the email he was typing up. "Miranda, what do I owe this pleasure."

"Stop with the bullshit Clay.. I know what you did!"

"And that would be?" Clay was clueless. What was she doing here?

"Oh, you're playing dumb now huh?" Mirando walked over to him and hijacked his computer.

"Miranda, what the hell are you doing? You can't just come in here and.."

"What do you call that?!" Miranda interrupted and moved away so he could see the screen. There, posted on some website were screen shots of Alex' sex tape.

Clay's mouth dropped.

"You're going to get one big ass lawsuit and wait until I find out who the hell Nathan knocked up." Miranda threatened.

"Miranda, I don't know what you're talking about but neither Nathan nor I leaked these pictures."

"If you didn't then who did?" Miranda questioned.

. . . .

_Nathan narrowed his eyes as he stared at Haley, Peyton and Brooke a few rows down from them, standing up and cheering against the railings._

"_I don't get what the big deal is." Nathan turned to his half brother._

"_Beats me." Lucas shrugged._

"_Isn't he some Elvis wanna be?"_

"_Hey, don't hate on the king." Lucas teased._

"_Lucas!" Nathan huffed and rubbed his temples._

"_Would you relax Nate? I don't get why you're so jealous."_

"_You wish." Nathan rolled his eyes._

"_Yeah.. look at you.. so Haley likes some musician.. it doesn't mean anything."_

"_Whatever man, I'm not jealous."_

"_Right." Lucas teased. Everyone started to stand up as the National Anthem was about to be sung._

"_I'm not jealous.. especially of Kelly Clarkson."_

_Lucas rolled his eyes and chuckled, his brother clearly jealous. "It's Chris Keller, you idiot."_

"_Whatever." Nathan rolled his eyes and looked down at the spikey haired, thin man wearing a rhinestone-encrusted blazer. "Either way I don't like him."_

"_Me either." _

. . . .

Nathan left his hotel room and headed down to the elevators. He was on his way to meet up with Lucas. He was excited to tell his brother about his run in with Whitey and about the sex of the baby. As he got out of the elevator, Nathan's phone started ringing. He was about to let it go to voice mail but figured Clay would be non-stop calling him anyways.

"Hey Clay, what's up?" Nathan asked as he walked towards the lobby.

"Nathan, thank God.. I've been trying to call you."

"What happened?"

"Look, Miranda came storming into my office.. turns out that Chris Keller leaked his own sex tape out."

"What? Are you serious?" Nathan rounded the hallway onto the main lobby.

"The press knows and they already started hounding Alex.. luckily they don't know anything about Haley but reports are claming that this whole thing between Alex and Chris is the reason why you two broke up.. so be careful man, they don't know where you are."

"Guess again." Nathan took a big gulp as he saw the scores of media outside the main entrance.

To Be Continued . . .


	12. You Know I Love You, Don't You

The Search For Something More

Chapter 12 - You Know I Love You, Don't You

Thank you guys for the reviews. I know some thought that Nathan declaring his love was a little too soon but then again it's Naley, when haven't they not waited. There is a little explanation in this chapter how Nathan declared his love like that. Now I have some bad news, I recently had an accident and I may have fractured one of the bones on my foot among other injuries. This can not come at a worst time as you can imagine. Things are really starting to heat up in this story and I really enjoyed writing this chapter. There are some light hearted moments and some serious moments and some heart warming moments. This chapter really gets the ball moving. It's actually very long that I didn't even include a flashback but I think the chapter works well without it anyways. I'm going to try my best to get the next chapter up ASAP but I need to rest and I can't really type on my bed. Tom, I'm getting a CAT scan done and hopefully I didn't fracture anything. So please send your love and your thoughts as it helps me get through the pain. Like I said, I'm a but injured which is why I didn't update sooner and I tried my best to clean up any grammar mistakes.

On a side note, I liked the last nights episode better than last week's but I still don't like the sara 2.0 storyline as well as the focus on grubbs and Miranda. I find it funny that Alex is in a fake relationship to bolster her career? Hmm sound familiar, lol. I knew the writers on the show were heading in that direction and which is why I incorporated it into this story. I don't know if I'm buying Haley's depression, I mean I know losing a parent is tough. I lost one when I was very young and to this day it can still bring me to tears so it's not like I don't know what she's going through, I guess it's the severity of it that I'm not buying. I can understand her slacking off work and stuff but the piano on fire thing was a little intense. Luckily Joy and James are great and they were able to sell that scene to me. I'm hoping Nathan steps up to the plate. Also, nice to see Brooke being funny, sexy and bubbly instead of jealousy and being mopey. Millie was actually not too bad and Mouth is doing the right thing. He needs to back off from Lauren. So please please support One Tree Hill. There might only be 2 episodes EVER ! We can't let that happen! Please continue to support the show!

Enjoy and please review !

. . . . .

"So what you think?" Nathan asked, not bother to say hi to Lucas as he entered the house.

"I'm thinking that security guard at the gate is wondering why you're trespassing." Lucas stepped inside the empty house. "Hi by the way." Lucas added with a hint of annoyance.

Nathan rolled his eyes and motioned for him to follow him.

"By the way, I passed by your hotel, there's a bunch of press outside, what's going on?"

"A sex tape of Alex got leaked to the press."

"What? You guys made a sex tape?!"

"No not with me.. with Chris Keller."

"Chris Keller?" Lucas squinted.

Nathan nodded. "Yeah him and he leaked it.. now the press are dubbing it as the reason why we broke up or some crap like that. I don't care. Those vultures are just dying for a statement from me." Nathan stated. Luckily, he saw them before they saw him and he sneaked out using a different exit.

"Damn, Chris Keller?" Lucas shook his head. "What're you going to say?"

"Nothing, doesn't affect me. To everyone, Alex and I have been over, this is her problem and me saying something will just bring the focus back on me which is the last thing I need."

"So just like that, you think they're going to go away?"

"I hope so, my agent told me not to say anything. He's on his way to the airport to come here as we speak."

"And here would be?" Lucas questioned as he followed Nathan inside the empty house.

"You got the kitchen here." Nathan pointed to the kitchen on his right. "And then you got a nice family room here and behind us is a sweet backyard with a pool." Nathan pointed to the back. "There's a bedroom slash den down that hallway as well as a half bath and upstairs there's three more bedrooms."

"Umm.. I'm going to take a wild guess here… you're thinking of buying this place?"

Nathan rolled his eyes; Lucas could be so slow sometimes. "Not shit Sherlock, so what you think?"

"I think it's a nice house.. a little big don't you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean all this space just for you."

"And the baby you moron.." Nathan shook his head. "Now I know what you're thinking.."?

"You don't want to know what I'm thinking.." Lucas muttered under his breath.

"Little baby.. pool, don't worry, I'll fence it up or something but when he's older, I know he's going to love it."

"Wait.. did you just say he?" Lucas whipped his head around.

Nathan sported a shit eating grin. "Yep.. we just found out.. it's a boy!"

"Wow.. shoot." Lucas laughed. "Congrats man.." The two pumped fists.

"Thanks man, a boy!" Nathan beamed, which Lucas noticed. "You know, there's a room upstairs, it has this baby blue plaid wall paper up already, I think it'd make for a great nursery."

Lucas never saw him so happy, which made what he was going to say all the sadder.

"Whoa, have you talked to Haley about setting up a nursery?"

"No but we need to set one up.. the baby's coming in a couple of months."

"So you and the baby.. in a three… four bedroom house?"

"Yeah." Nathan cleared his throat.

"Nathan.."

"What? Luke, it gives me space to grow into.."

"A house seems a bit much."

"What're you talking about, it's a house."

"I figured you'd get your own place in Tree Hill, I just thought hat maybe you'd get a condo or something but a big house like this, it's setting up roots, what's going on?" Lucas questioned.

Nathan sighed and placed his hands on the kitchen counter and looked down, there was no point in beating around the bush. "I told her I loved her." Nathan said softly.

"You did not?!" Lucas threw his hands up.

Nathan looked up and looked at Lucas straight in the eye. "I told her I want to be a family.. me.. her.. the baby."

"Nathan, why would you say something like that?"

"Why shouldn't I? It's the truth." Nathan shook his head. "I'm tired of putting aside my feelings .. I thought I could do this but after finding out we're having a boy.. I can't.. I can't hold back anymore."

"And I'm sure Haley was thrilled." Lucas said sarcastically.

"No but it's okay. I don't expect her to just come running back into my arms. I'm not an idiot, I know it's going to take time."

"Are you hearing yourself? Do I need to remind you that you live across the country, or that you travel half the year, or wait let me see." Lucas paused for dramatic effect. "Oh yeah that's right, the fact that you broke her heart!"

"I know that!" Nathan replied back. "I didn't say I had everything figured out but I love her Luke .. I can't help that."

"I know you do but that doesn't change anything you've done!"

"Don't you think that's her decision to make?"

"Trust me, from someone who's actually been there for most of her life, you're not going to like the answer. Nate, I'm happy that you're stepping up to the plate and taking responsibility for your son but you and Haley.." Lucas shook his head.

"I know I hurt her and I wasn't there but I'm here now."

"Are you? Cuz last time I checked, you're here until your next game." Lucas fired back. "You say you love her, you say you want her back and you're right it is up to Haley but do you really think she'll fall in love with you all over again, after all you've put her through."

"You may want to hit me in the face again but I was hurting too Luke.."

"You're right, I do." Lucas clenched his fist.

"But you were there, you remember how we were, I'm not asking you for your blessing but can you honestly say that there's been anyone else who's made her that happy? If there's a chance it can happen, then I have to take it."

Lucas thought about it and his mind flashbacked to all the times he saw of Nathan and Haley, how happy both of them were. He saw first hand the incredible change that happened between the two of them and between him and Nathan. "Fine Nathan." Lucas put his hands up in mock surrender. "But you're going to be digging up old wounds and it's not pretty.. and I'm sure it's something Haley doesn't need right now."

"I know.." Nathan looked down. "I know that I can't just make her fall back in love with me." Nathan shook his head. "I just have to show her that I'm here and I'm not going anywhere and then she'll know." Nathan looked his brother straight in the eye.

"Know what?"

"That she's always loved me."

. . . . . .

"Haley!" Peyton called out as she headed upstairs towards Haley's room.

"Go away." She mumbled putting her pillow over her head. The whole day had been draining with talking with her mother and of course Nathan. The bright spot in all this was that she finally knew the sex of the baby.

"Aww, Hales, were you sleeping?" Peyton stepped inside.

"Not really." Haley took the pillow off her face. "Just a long day."

"And?" Peyton took a seat on Haley's bed.

"It's a boy." Haley smiled.

"Oh that's so great!" The two hugged. "Although, I'm pretty sure Brooke was hoping for a girl."

"She would." Haley laughed. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

"Oh, I'd stay clear of her if I were you."

"How come?"

"She got inspired today to do a maternity line, I had to practically yell at her to not come over here and start measuring you."

"Oh lord, thanks." Haley laughed. "Well I am in need of new clothes."

"Yeah, you will."

Haley paused and looked down at her belly. "I told her.. my mom that is."

"Oh? How'd she take it?"

"Better than expected, actually with my mom, you never know what you're going to get."

"And what does she feel about Nathan being the father?" Peyton questioned.

"Pretty okay. She actually told me that I owe it to myself to see if there's something there with Nathan.. you know, romantically.."

"She said that?" Peyton was a little surprised.

"Yeah, she said that after I told her that Nathan told me he loves me and wants us to be a family."

"Whoa." Peyton shook her head. "He said, what?! I can't believe him."

"Yeah so all in all a busy day." Haley laid back down on her pillow.

Peyton gave her a small smile. "You want to talk about it."

"No, I'm all talked out.. what I want actually is some food."

Peyton nodded in agreement. She knew Haley had a lot to deal with and sometimes doing the best thing for someone is knowing when to take a step back. When Haley was ready to talk, Peyton would be there. "Let's grab some dinner."

. . . . .

::Knock Knock::

"Come in." Dan called out.

"Here are the budget reports you requested." Renee walked over to his desk and handed him the folders. "My contact at the real estate office also gave me this." Renee pulled out another folder. "This is the property Nathan requested to look at today."

"Thank you." Dan took the reports. "Are the reporters still outside the hotel?"

"Yes, they found out that Nathan made a reservation there but no one has seen him."

"Ok, call the police commissioner and send a unit out there to disperse the press. I'm sure the last thing Nathan wants is media coverage over some ex bimbo girlfriend."

"I'll get on it." Renee nodded her head. "My contact at the airlines informed me that Nathan is due to fly back to Seattle in a few days . Do you want me to fly back there?"

"No." Dan replied.

Renee looked at Dan curiously.

"I just assumed that you want still want me to keep an eye on Nathan."

"The season's almost over, Nathan's looking into a house." Dan looked through the property report. "Nathan's coming home." Dan smiled.

Dan pulled an envelope of cash from his drawer and handed it to Renee. "You're a great secretary and this is all for that _over time _you've done for me."

"Thank you, Mr. Scott .. but how about Lucas, he's supposed to go to New York to meet with his publisher?"

"No, it's okay." Dan leaned back in his chair. "In fact, I don't think I'll need you do anything else.. both my sons are home, everything's coming together." Dan sat back on his chair.

Renee gave him a tight smile. "Well I'm here if you need anything." Renee turned around and headed out of his office. Once she was alone, Renee took out her phone and dialed a number but no one picked up and it went to voice mail.

"Hey, it's me. We have a problem."

. . . . .

Haley walked up to Lucas' red door by his bedroom and slowly turned the knob. As quiet as she could, she walked into Lucas' room and on his bed. She found him buried under the sheets.

Pouncing on top of him, "Wake up loser!" Haley pulled the covers and was shocked to find that it wasn't Lucas underneath the sheets.

Nathan opened his eyes and found Haley straddling him. Grinning from ear to ear, he grabbed onto the side of her thighs.

"Morning babe." He smirked.

"Nathan!" Haley shrieked and quickly got off of him. _This hasn't happened since college, _she thought.

"Damn, that wasn't a dream_._"Nathan muttered and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"What're you doing here?"

"I slept over." Nathan got up and stretched. Haley quickly turned away, the image of Nathan in only his boxers was something she definitely didn't need at the moment.

"Why? And where's Luke?" Haley tried to look at the wall and not as his chiseled abs.

"Morning to you too." He smirked and bent down to talk to her belly. "How's my little baller today?" Nathan cooed to his son and then stood back up, Haley looked pissed.

"Would you put some clothes?" Haley huffed.

Nathan bit his tongue, he didn't want to tick her off anymore, especially since he wasn't expecting to see her this morning. He went over to a nearby chair and grabbed his jeans and put it on.

"You still haven't answered me."

Nathan chuckled. "I spent the night on the couch, Lucas had to open the café this morning so I decided to trade the couch for his bed, you know for my back." Nathan rubbed his back.

Haley cursed to herself, not only for checking Nathan out but that she completely forgot Karen was out of town. She took the weekend off and hasn't been at the café for a couple days, damn pregnancy hormones making her forget things.

"And why did you sleep over in the first place?" Haley crossed her arms.

"The press was outside my hotel, I didn't want to give them a chance to ambush me."

"Why are they here?" Haley questioned.

"They probably want to question me about the sex tape of Alex and Chris Keller that went viral on the web."

"Are you serious?" Haley questioned.

Nathan nodded.

"Chris Keller.. that's so.. weird."

"Tell me about it and he released it! I remember when you and Peyton were all ga-ga eyed over him."

"I was not ga-ga eyed!" Haley protested. "That was Peyton." Haley added.

Nathan chuckled. "Whatever you need to tell yourself."

"So what does this mean for you?"

"Like I told Luke, nothing." Nathan shrugged. "I told you that I would end things with her and I have. The rest of the world can gossip all they want but I'm not going to feed the hype. Whatever Alex does is on her."

Haley nodded in understanding.

"And what brings you here?" Nathan questioned as he took one of Lucas' t-shirts and put it on. It was a little snug but if fit him. "You always wake Luke up with a lap dance?" He meant it to sound like a joke but a hint of annoyance and jealousy came out.

"Oh get your head out of the gutter Scott.. I just wanted to see if he wanted to get breakfast, I never did get a chance to talk to him yesterday."

"Well Lucas, should be back in a bit. Let's see if we can scrounge up some breakfast." He motioned her to follow him. Haley hesitated for a second but getting food in her stomach was more pressing at the moment.

Haley sat by the kitchen table as Nathan peered in the fridge. Haley tried to look away but his butt looked so good, as he leaned over. Haley mentally kicked herself, she really needed to get a handle of her raging hormones.

Nathan placed a bottle of milk and orange juice in front her as well as a bowl. Then, he started to raid through the cabinets,

" Alright, we got Dip-n-Dots, no G. Snack-pack puddin', no G. And my personal favourite, Cap'ain Crunch, no T."

Haley couldn't help but laugh as Nathan placed the items in front of her.

"Basically, foods missing consonants."

Haley laughed again, pleasantly surprised it wasn't as awkward as their last conversation yesterday. This side of Nathan, so care free and relaxed, she hadn't seen in a while.

"You know, I used to love snarfing down Cap'ain Crunch; watching Saturday morning cartoons when I was a kid."

"What, was that, like, a year ago?" Nathan teased as he poured some milk and cereal into his bowl.

She gave him a dirty look but with a small smirk tugging at the corners of her lip.

"How can I be so young… and feel so old. It's like I-I never thought that I would have this many big questions on my plate by now."

"I know how you feel." Nathan nodded in agreement. "About yesterday Hales.. Finding about your dad and then finding out that we're having a boy, I got caught up in the moment, I'm sorry about what happened, I didn't want to upset your or make you mad."

"So the part about you loving me and wanting us to be a family was just in the heat of the moment?" Haley bit back.

"No, I meant all those things." Nathan quickly replied with conviction. "But I also know I hurt you .. a lot and I know that seeing me is enough to bring back all those painful memories. I'm sorry that I just sprung it on you like that, that's all."

Haley looked down and started swirling her spoon in her bowl.

"I don't know what you want me to say Nathan."

"Well it'd be nice if you told me you loved me too." He said with a mischievous grin but she stayed silent with her head down.

"But honestly, Hales, you don't need to say anything. I just want you to know where I stand, I know you hate for all the mess I've caused."

"I don't hate you Nathan." Haley said softly. "You hurt me .. badly .. and for all the wrong reasons but I can't be mad about you about this." Haley placed her hand on her belly. "I was so scared when I found out I was pregnant .. actually I'm still scared." Haley gave a nervous chuckle and Nathan smiled back. "But I don't know.. I just love him already.. it's a piece of me.. of us growing inside me."

"I know the feeling." Nathan replied and cleared his throat, this was as good of a time to tell her. "I want to let you know that I've been looking into getting a place in Tree Hill."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, the baby is going to be here in a couple of months and I don't want to be spending my time crashing at Luke's or at some hotel."

"But Seattle?"

"Basketball season is over in a few weeks, I wish it were sooner but unfortunately, I'm under contract but once the season is over, I'll be back here for good in time for the baby to arrive."

"And next season?"

"Honestly, I don't know. The Sonics haven't given me my contract yet and I already told my agent to field some offers from the teams on the East coast… like the Bobcats." Nathan said softly.

"You're going to transfer to Charlotte?"

"Maybe, I don't know. I told you Hales, you and the baby is what matters and Charlotte isn't very far from here .. I don't want you to feel like you're doing this on your own." Nathan reached over to her and squeezed her hand.

"Thank.. thank you Nathan.. that means a lot." Haley pulled her hand back and cleared her throat. "But I don't want you to get the wrong idea Nathan, just because we're going to be parents doesn't mean we're back together."

"I know that but I still love you and the baby either way." He gave her a warm smile that sent her heart racing. "I know this baby will bring us closer together but anything more than that, I want it to be for the right reasons. I don't want our son to go through what I did. My mom and my dad got married for all the wrong reasons, mainly because my mom was pregnant with me and my grandparents forced it, and look what happened. They had this illusion of love but all it did was make every one miserable." Nathan shook his head. "My mom's been in and out of rehab and my dad.. well he's still an ass." Nathan gave a nervous chuckle.

Haley nodded in quiet appreciation. It was clear to her Nathan spent a lot of time reflecting over things and wasn't trying to use their baby as a means for them to get back together. Letting Nathan back in her life again was one thing, but opening her heart to him was something else quiet different. Things were getting too close for comfort and Haley desperately needed a change of pace.

"So you and Luke have been spending some time together?" Haley decided to change topics and took another spoonful of her cereal.

"If you call me beating his ass in basketball and playing X-box, spending time together then yeah." He smirked.

Haley chuckled. "I can imagine the two of you going at it but I'm .. I'm really glad that you two have found together again."

"So you don't mind me sharing your best friend?" He smirked.

Haley paused and bit her lips nervously. "Can I tell you something?"

"What?" Nathan raised his eyebrows.

"I remember when I was tutoring you and how mad Luke was."

"He was pretty pissed as I recalled."

"And then I started having feelings for you and it was like this back and forth thing between the both of you. I felt like a tennis ball sometimes."

"Yeah, I remember." Nathan grimaced.

"The point is, I knew that if you guys would just put your differences aside, you'll see that the other isn't the enemy and that something great would be there."

"That was some gamble you took on us."

"Well as much as my sister Taylor and I go at, she's still my sister and I do love her. You and Luke are brothers, you guys should be together. Back in high school, I thought to myself, even if you and I didn't work out, at least the two of you would still have each other." Haley smiled.

Nathan smiled back. "I took everyone I ever cared about for granted." Nathan's smile fell but he quickly rebounded. "I won't make that mistake again.. but you Hales.. you not only gave me a brother but a son as well.. you gave me family, I'll.. I'll never be able to thank you enough."

Haley was about to say something when her face suddenly scrunched up and her hands fell to her stomach.

"Haley?!" Are you okay?" Nathan started to get worried and stood up and bent down next to her. "Is it the baby?"

"Yes but..." Haley raised her oversized sweater and placed his hand a top her swollen belly. "I've felt him move before but not.. not like this."

Nathan's eyes went wide in awe as he felt distinct jabs and presses against his hand.

"That's normal right?" Nathan said nervously.

Haley smiled. "Yeah, it is."

"Wow.. look at him go." Nathan replied as he felt his son kick.

Haley laughed. "I know, he got some legs there.."

"That's my boy!" Nathan beamed.

"Wow, it's like he's playing soccer or something."

"Soccer Hales?" Nathan questioned her. "No way is our son playing soccer."

Haley playfully rolled her eyes but she was all smiles again as they felt their son move and flail about.

Unbeknownst to them, Lucas quietly entered the house and spotted the two of them in the kitchen. He stood in the sidelines and watched them smile and fawn over their baby son. The sight tugged at the strings of Lucas' heart. He never saw Nathan so happy nor Haley. He was still scared and worried over his best friend. Nathan had hurt her so badly and part of him was in denial that she never moved on from Nathan. She may have dated Julian for a few years but most of the time it was a long distance relationship with her on the west coast and he on the east. He knew Julian made her happy but Lucas wasn't blind. The spark and passion was never really there, not like what Haley had with Nathan.

The smile Haley currently had on her face was something he hadn't seen in over five years. It was funny, when Nathan and Haley first started going out in high school, he was their biggest opponent but by the end, he supported his brother and Haley to the fullest. He used to think their love was epic and grand. Everyone around them could see how happy and in love they were, so it was a big shot in the gut when their relationship ended. As much as he hated to admit it, maybe Nathan was right all along. For the sake of all three of them, he hoped that Nathan won't screw up again and the three of them could be the family they all deserved.

Deciding to let the proud parents-to-be have their moment, Lucas stepped back outside just in time to see a cab pull up. Lucas watched curiously as a man about his height with spikey hair and a goofy grin came walking up to his footsteps.

"You must be Lucas." Clay smiled as stuck out his hand.

"And you must be Clay." Lucas replied back and shook his hand.

"You know the last few weeks, Nathan's been non-stop talking about you."

"Good things I hope." Lucas smiled politely.

"You know I read up about you.. you were a great player back in the day.. helped Nathan win the state championship."

"More like Nathan helped me out." Lucas quickly replied.

Clay laughed. "You know, I would never guess you two were brothers." Clay took in Lucas' appearance, he was blond haired and Nathan was dark but they both shared similar blue eyes. "But I see it now.. that Scott cockiness."

"Lucas is that you?"

Luke turned his head around and heard Nathan calling out for him.

A second later, Nathan appeared on the patio.

"Clay." Nathan smiled as he saw his agent. "Come in guys, Luke you got to see this, the baby is kicking up a storm."

Clay and Luke followed Nathan inside and Luke immediately went over to Haley. "So how's my little nephew?" Luke smiled at Haley.

"You're going to be this kid's favorite Uncle." Haley smiled back.

"I better." Luke laughed and stood up. It seems that his unborn nephew finally calmed down.

"Haley, you remember Clay?" Nathan motioned to Clay.

"Yes I do." Haley gave a tight smile. "You accused me of being a gold digger and a bitch."

Clay laughed nervously. "Only cuz my client here never bothered to share details." Clay gave Nathan a pointed look. "I'm sorry about that Haley but you look radiant. Congratulations on having a son." Clay turned on the charm.

Haley smiled. "You're forgiven and you're welcome."

The rest of the morning went smoothly. Luke grabbed some pastries from his car and the four had breakfast and chatted. Afterwards, Haley felt a little tired and both brothers insisted that Haley take a nap in Lucas' room. Haley closed the door behind her as the guys starting talking sports. She made her way over to Lucas' bed and turned to her side and hugged one of Lucas' pillows. She was surprised to smell Nathan's scent on the pillow. It seems that he still used the same aftershave as he did in high school. Haley sighed at the memory and hugged the pillow tighter before drifting off to a peaceful slumber.

. . . . .

"Rachel, I'm home!" Renee called out as she entered their apartment.

"Hey Babe." The red headed vixen got up from the couch and greeted her lover. The two shared a kiss and Rachel led Renee over to the couch.

"This is the money Dan paid me." Renee reached into her purse and handed Rachel the envelope full of money. "But did you get my message?"

"Yeah, I did." Rachel counted the hundreds inside.

"That's it we're screwed. Dan doesn't need me anymore."

"That's okay." Rachel reassured her.

"Okay?" Renee stood up. "I don't know about you but I like how we're living but we won't be able to keep this up with me just working as Dan's secretary … unless you want to go back to dancing on polls." Renee bit back.

"Sweety, you worry too much." Rachel got up and pecked her lips. "Look, we know that Dan wouldn't keep paying us forever. That's why we have a back up plan."

"Some pictures of me and Nathan won't do anything.. in fact, I'm sure Dan will blow a gasket when he finds out that I actually interacted with Nathan."

"Don't worry about that. Nathan sees fans all the time, I'm sure he doesn't remember you. Besides we don't need Dan anyways, I figured out how we're going to make so much money that neither of us will have to lift a finger again."

"And what's this brilliant plan of your's?"

"I know someone who has much deeper pockets than Dan Scott." Rachel smirked and took the remote control and hired up the volume.

"_Hello everyone, Maria Menounos here with today's latest entertainment headlines. As you know, a sex tape of musician Chris Keller and actress Alex DuPre was leaked on the internet. As of yet, no statements have been released by either camps. DuPre recently got out of a romance with Sonics Player Nathan Scott. Reps for Dupre and Scott both say the break up was mutual but the rumor mill is buzzing that DuPre's hook up with Keller was the reason for the break up. But reporters caught up with Nathan in his hometown of Tree Hill and this is what he had to say." _

_The screen turned to reporters outside Nathan's hotel, with Nathan and Clay walking through the crowd._

"_Are you back home to mend your heart after Alex cheated on you?"_

"_Did Chris Keller break you and Alex apart?" _

_The press were firing questions at Nathan. Once at the entrance to the hotel, Nathan finally turned around to address the press._

"_I came back to my home town to visit my brother and some friends." Nathan cleared his throat and choose his next words carefully. "Alex and I aren't together because it wasn't there. We both knew it wouldn't work out and we went our separate ways. I consider Alex a great person, a wonderful actress, and someone I consider to be a friend. Alex and I hold no grudge against each other and during this time, I'm sure if everyone would just give her some space."_

"_So Chris Keller didn't break you two apart?" One reporter yelled out._

"_No." Nathan quickly replied and waved the cameras off as he stepped inside. Tree Hill police were on patrol outside the hotel and made sure that the press didn't go any further. _

Rachel turned the television off and then turned back to Renee.

"Well I give Nathan credit, he is visiting his brother and friends .. too bad he left the part about visiting his baby mama." Rachel grinned and Renee started to catch on.

"We don't need Dan." Renee muttered.

"Exactly!" Rachel replied. "How much do you think Nathan Scott will pay to keep his little love child a secret?" She smirked.

To Be Continued . . . .


	13. Let the Reigns Go Loose

The Search For Something More

Chapter 13 - Let the Reigns Go Loose

Thank you all for the reviews last chapter and your greetings. I apologize for the delay, but like I said, I got injured and I'm on crutches. It's thrown everything out of whack in my life right now and its hard to find the time to write. Luckily I was able to finish up this next chapter, which I think turned out a lot better than I thought it would. I hope you like it as well. There's definitely a lot that happens in this chapter and a lot of Naley. This chapter was also much longer than anticipated, I couldn't even fit a flashback, thought I don't think one was needed in this chapter. Thanks to Kelly for proofreading.

Now I wasn't a big fan of this past week's episode but next week is the season finale.. possibly the SERIES FINALE and the thought of that happening just breaks my heart. Please support OTH and let's hope for a season 8!

Enjoy and please review!

. . . .

Haley stared at the mirror and studied her reflection. The dress Brooke had made for her looked great but it also hugged her at the tummy, leaving no room for doubt that she was indeed with child. She cradled her belly and smiled, this was all so real now. She was having a son, more than that, it was her and Nathan having a son. It had been four days since she found out that she was having a boy and she was still not used to it.

Every day, Nathan stopped by to check in with her, bringing her food, and constantly reminding her to take it easy. It was annoying but she knew it was out of concern. When she had to work back at the café, he and Lucas agreed that she should just stay behind the counter and that she wouldn't be carrying trays of food over to people. Nathan even hung around the café for most of the day keeping her and Lucas company while they ran the café.

Nathan had been a complete gentleman the whole time he was in town. It was weird, sometimes it felt like he never left but Lucas or Haley would say something that Nathan had no idea about and reality struck in remind them all that he wasn't there. Still, Nathan took it in stride. He stopped apologizing, which Haley was thankful for. She knew he was sorry and she didn't need a reminder of that every time she saw him. What's done is done and there's nothing left to do but forgive and move on. And Haley realized that she had forgiven him, she may not have liked what he did or why he did it but there was no point in hashing out old wounds. The scars of his mistake would always be there but she had to move past it, if not for her own sanity but at least for the sake of their child.

She could see Nathan was trying his best and that's all she could ask for. It was actually cute, the way he would fawn over their baby and always tried to do things for her so that way she wouldn't have to do it. Sometimes it was cute but mostly annoying. But they finally managed to talk and agree to a few things. They would share full custody of the baby but with Nathan's unknown basketball future, it was agreed that the baby would stay permanently with Haley. She coordinated her doctor's visits so that way Nathan wouldn't miss any more but with the basketball season coming to a close soon, she knew she would be seeing Nathan a lot more.

She didn't know how she felt about that. Nathan hadn't mentioned the "L" word anymore after he professed his love but it still left her unsure on how to handle things. Before she could chalk up his presence to the baby but she knew better. He loved them both and she sometimes wished that she never heard him say those things to her. Denial could be a powerful tool.

"Haley!" Brooke yelled. "Get your sexy ass out here!"

Haley stepped out of the dressing room and did a little twirl for Peyton and Brooke.

"Looking good mama." Peyton commented.

"Good." Brooke replied. "She's smoking! I knew this would look great on you."

"Thanks Brooke, I really appreciate the clothes, you saved me a shopping trip."

"Well you can't be wearing sweat shirts forever you know." Brooke grinned as she assessed her work.

"I can't believe you worked so fast." Haley replied.

"Well, this space I rented out is great. I'm meeting with a contractor tomorrow to make the front into a boutique and this area back here is my work space." Brooke spoke. "And I guess my mom was right, some time back home was what I needed to focus.

"Victoria right?" Peyton laughed. "That's a first."

"I know shocking." Brooke laughed. "You know, when I told her I was doing a maternity line, she told me good, fat people need clothes too."

"She did not!" Haley's eyes went wide.

"With my mother, nothing surprises me at this point." Brooke shrugged. "But I have to give it to her, she's pretty business savvy."

"Speaking of moms." Peyton turned to Haley. "How's Mrs. J doing?"

"A lot better." Haley smiled, thankful that the treatment was working. "The doctors said that she could even be released, she's excited to see my other siblings"

"She doesn't want to stay in Tree Hill?" Peyton asked.

"My family is so scattered around, she wants to see the rest of my family. Plus her next set of treatment is mild radiation, the dosage in the pills are low so she doesn't need to be isolated but as much as I would love to have my mom around but with the baby we don't want to take any risks. "

"Well, it's good your mom is able to go out and still enjoy life."

"Yes, that was part of our deal. My mom agreed to the treatment if it allowed her to be able to go out again and live her life outside some cold hospital."

"Aww, Hales, I'm really happy for you." Peyton smiled.

"Yeah, Hales." Brooke replied. "Luke mentioned that she was looking better to the last time he saw her."

"Luke huh?" Haley raised her eyebrow. "You know, I was wondering where he was last night .. or you for that matter."

"Ohhh.." Peyton cooed. "B. Davis, are you hiding something from us."

"I'm not hiding anything." Brooke scurried to a nearby mannequin and started to drape it with fabric.

"You're lying." Haley called her out.

"Well the café is right around the corner, Lucas closed up, saw the lights still on and he brought me some food, we ate, we talked, it's not a big deal."

"Sounds like a date." Peyton mischievously smiled at Haley.

"I agree." Haley grinned back.

"You guys are delusional, first of all, Lucas and Lindsey just broke up and they work together."

"Yeah because they realized that they're better off as friends." Haley added.

"And just because Lucas and I had a past doesn't mean we can't be friends." Brooke tried to defend herself.

"Right." Peyton mocked.

"Oh you're one to talk, you dated him too and you two are friends."

"Yeah, but I'm also with Jake." Peyton replied.

Brooke tapped her fingers against her lips. "So if my dinner with Lucas counts as a date then Haley's had at least 5 dates with Nathan this past week."

"WHAT?" Haley gasped. "Don't try to turn the tables around on me."

"Oh no no no.. you started this and I mean Nathan's always coming by your house and the café."

"He's checking on the baby."

"Bringing you food and candy."

"Cuz I need to eat!"

"And let's not forget how he totally professed his undying love for you and the little munchkin." Brooke smirked.

"You promised not to tell!" Haley turned to Peyton.

"What, no you didn't say that." Peyton replied back. "And I have to agree on this one, Brooke has a point."

"I mean, I hope at least the sex is hot.. it's not like hotshot can do any more damage." Brooke eyed Haley's belly.

Haley shot her a dirty look. "Look, I already told Nathan that it's not going to happen. And of course, we're going to spend time together, we're having a baby in case you forgot."

"And I wonder how that happened." Brooke rolled her eyes over to Peyton.

"You guys are crazy." Haley waved her wands. "And what's up with you Brooke, you're the most anti-Nathan person I know."

Brooke playfully rolled her eyes. "As much as I hate the bastard, he is the father of munchkin here and you've been having that look."

"Look?" Haley questioned.

"You're Nathan look." Peyton added.

"What? You guys are crazy?"

"Haley, it's us you're talking to." Peyton replied.

"I know high school has been over for a while now but we still remember you know?"

"Like I said, you guys are delusional. Nathan and I.. we're .. we're friends.. if you can call it that."

"That's the thing Haley, you were friends with Nathan for what 5 minutes after you started having feelings for him."

"Brooke, that was a long time ago."

"Not that long ago, I mean as much as we tease you about this .. well just because it's fun." Peyton smirked. "We're also worried about you."

"Guys, I'm pregnant, no body knows about it and when people find out, I'm sure hell will break out, my mom is finally recovering.. I have enough things to worry about than my feelings Nathan Scott."

"And what are those feelings?" Brooke questioned.

Haley paused for a second. "I remember when I baby sat my neighbor's kids, a boy and a girl, thought it would be a breeze but they drove me up the wall. I remember my house got trashed because of those monsters." Haley laughed and walked over to a nearby chair and sat down. "Anyways, we had a game that night and their mom was running late, so I took them to the game with me. Karen was there to watch them while I cheered. After the game, I came out of the locker rooms, I couldn't find the kids or Karen and I searched everywhere but then I went back to the gym, I found them with Nathan. He was teaching them how to shoot a basketball. I swear I thought those kids were incapable of following instructions, but there they were, being well behaved, following everything Nathan was telling them." Haley smiled at the memory. "I just stood and there and watched on and that's when I knew."

"Knew what?" Peyton asked.

"That he'll make a great father." Haley looked up. "Even when I hated him I always knew that. And now, I think he's doing the best despite the situation he's in. When he tells me that he's sorry, I believe him and I do forgive him.. have forgiven him." Haley corrected herself. "I know he loves our son. And when he told me he loves me, I believe him, even though I wish I didn't." Haley paused.

"But?" Brooke raised an eyebrow.

"Sometimes when I'm with him, it's so easy to forget everything he's done and I see the caring, sweet man I fell in love with." Haley let a tear fall down her eyes.

"But I remember all the pain he put me through and even though I have forgiven him, it doesn't mean I've forgotten all he's done and he how just threw our lives together out the door." Haley wiped her eyes. "Being around him again.. it just brings up so many memories.. the good.. the bad and it'd be so much easier if he wasn't around but he's the father, I would never deny him access to his son."

Haley got back up and went over to the rack to find another dress to try on.

"And that ladies, is how I feel."

Brooke and Peyton looked at each other worriedly before Brooke finally spoke up.

"That sucks."

All the girls paused for a moment before bursting out laughing, something Haley desperately needed.

. . . . . .

"Tell him not to do it." Lucas took a shot, the ball easily making it through the basket.

"You tell him." Clay caught the basketball and passed it back to Lucas.

"Me? You're his agent, you tell him." Lucas took another shot but missed and hit the rim. Clay got the rebound and dribbled it for a few steps.

"I'm his agent not his financial planner.. you're his brother." Clay took a shot but like so many he took, he missed.

"Ahem!" Nathan spoke up, annoyed at his brother and agent. "HE is right here."

Clay and Lucas looked at each other then back to Nathan.

"Don't buy the house." They said in unison.

"It's my money, I can afford it, plus I need a place to stay." Nathan countered. "No offense Luke but your sofa isn't exactly the most comfortable thing for my back." Nathan had been staying with Luke. The press had backed off a little bit but a few were still outside his hotel and he didn't want to deal with that.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't get your own place in Tree Hill." Clay replied. "But with a house that big, you're going to scare her."

"It's not like this house is from Elm Street, I'm sure Haley will be fine."

"You idiot, she's not going to be scared at the actual house, she's going to be scared of what it represents." Clay rolled his eyes. He was going to say something when his phone started beeping. He took his phone out and cursed to himself. "Crap, I'm low on battery and I left my charger at the hotel." Clay muttered to himself.

"Hey I got to take this but I need to go back to my hotel and charge my phone.. I'll catch up with you guys later." Clay walked over to his rental car and got in. "Lucas talk some sense into him."

"He's right you know." Lucas stood next to Nathan as they watched Clay drive off.

"What?"

"That you'll scare her. The house screams family."

"But we are family.. me, Haley and the baby."

"Yes you are, but you and Haley are the baby's family.. not you and Haley." Lucas added and noticed his brother wince.

"Gee thanks." Nathan mocked.

"Look, I'm not trying to be mean here but I'm just letting you know the truth. If you want to get Haley back then you need to take it slow, you know how OCD Haley can be, you'll scare her off."

"Since when are you Team _Naley_?" Nathan questioned.

Lucas chuckled, he hadn't heard that term in a while. Of course Brooke was the one to come up with it during high school. Apparently saying Nathan and Haley took too long.

"I'm not. I'm trying my best to be neutral but I'm Haley's my best friend and also you're my brother.. and as your brother, I am offering you my opinion. And I would've told you the same thing whether or not the girl was Haley. You are trying to win her back right?"

"Yes.. no.." Nathan shook his head. "Like you said, the baby is bringing us closer but I don't want to low ball and use the baby as an excuse.. it's like any move I make is the wrong one." Nathan said frustrated. "All I can do is show her that I'll be there for her and the baby and hopefully one day she'll stop looking at me as the guy who broke her heart."

"That's actually not a bad plan… but if that's not what she wants Nate, you have to let her go."

Nathan nodded, feeling a little sick at the thought of letting her go. He tried for five years, he doubt in fifty years from now he'll feelings will change.

"But I still wouldn't buy the house." Lucas smirked.

Nathan chuckled and rolled his eyes. "I'll think about it." Nathan ran over to the basketball and took a shot.

"Hey Luke?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For giving me a shot, even if I don't deserve it. You know part of the reason I hated you when we were growing up was that I knew you were a better man than me. I'm glad you're my big brother." Nathan gave a small smile.

Lucas smiled back. "You're a good man too Nate.. you just lose your way sometimes."

"Coming from you.. that means a lot."

"But your ass is still sleeping on the couch." Lucas joked as he picked up the basketball and went for a lay up.

"Ass!" Nathan joked back and stole the ball from Luke and took a shot. Grabbing the rebound, Nathan turned back to Lucas. "By the way, you came home late last night.. Haley was looking for you.. and Brooke." He smirked.

Lucas squinted hard at his brother. "Just shoot the damn ball."

. . . . . . .

Clay slowed down the car and glanced at the address on his cell phone. Looking around, he finally spotted the building and pulled his car to the side and parked. He got out of the car and looked around to see if anyone was following him. Standing in front of the brick building, he went around the corner and into the alley next to him.

"You came." A voice called out from the shadows.

Clay felt his heart leap out of his chest.

"Jesus, don't do that." Clay turned around and found an attractive red head in front of him. He wasn't expecting this.

"Sorry." The red head smirked. "Thanks for coming. I'm Rachel." She stuck her hand out.

Clay didn't bother shaking it and went straight to the point. "You said you had some information on Nathan Scott."

"I do."

"Well?"

"Straight to the point huh?"

Clay shook his head. "I knew this was a waste of time." He muttered and turned around to walk away.

"Wait!" Rachel called out after him.

"Look, I don't have time for games. What magazine you work for huh? TV show?"

"I'm not the press but I have some information.. valuable information." Rachel added and handed him manila envelope.

"What is this?" Clay asked.

. . . .

"This is bad." Nathan felt his palm sweating as he flipped through the photos.

"You're telling me." Clay replied as they sat in Lucas' kitchen going over the photos Rachel gave Clay.

"So she has some shots of me and Haley.. big deal. She has nothing." Nathan put the photos back down. They were screen shots of Nathan and Haley at the hospital. Somehow this Rachel person found out about Haley's pregnancy and was able to get some shots of them through the hospital's security camera. Nathan wore his usual disguise but you can tell from some of the shots that it was him.

"She knows Haley is pregnant and Haley's bump is getting bigger. She can't won't be able to hide it People will notice and it's not like you're going to keep Haley on house arrest."

Nathan sighed. "We agreed that she shouldn't say anything about the father until after the baby is born. I don't want the press stressing her out."

Nathan scratched his head. This was the last thing he needed. "How much does she want?"

"$500,000.00"

"Is she on crack?"

"I know but it's a small price to pay."

"Half a million dollars is anything but small .. plus this is blackmail!"

"I know but what choice do we have? If we take this to the police, the press will find out about this and we might as well have paid her off."

"Fuck." Nathan muttered, so far for his house money. "Is there anything else we can do? Where the hell did this bitch come from?"

"I don't know man, her number's local. Maybe she works at the hospital and put two and two together. I wish I had a better idea of who she is but I ran a trace on her number but it's prepaid. I'll see if I can pull out some prints from the photos she gave us." Clay looked down.

"I wish I had better news Nate but no matter what, it's lose lose."

Nathan thought about it and as much as he hated it, there was nothing he could do. The baby and Haley have to come first.

"I guess I have to pay her off." Nathan muttered.

"No, you're not!"

Nathan and Clay whipped their heads around found Haley standing at the doorway, her hands on her hips.

Nathan sat there, shocked. Clay got up and tried to quell the situation.

"Haley, whatever you heard.."

"Clay, I heard enough." Haley interrupted him.

"But.."

"Clay, can you give Nathan and I a moment?" Haley demanded. Clay looked back at Nathan and nodded. Clay excused himself from the kitchen and stepped out to the front of the house to give the two some privacy.

"Someone's blackmailing you and you're just going to pay them off?" Haley questioned.

"You heard?"

"Nathan, half a million dollars is a lot of money."

"I know that, but it's a small price to pay."

"That's anything but small, were you even going to tell me about this?"

"I'm going to take care of this."

"Nathan, you're dodging the question." Haley replied. "If I hadn't walked in on right now, you would've never told me huh?"

"Well not now.. I didn't want to stress you out."

"Geez Nathan! You're stressing me out now!"

"See, this is why I didn't want to tell you."

"God, Nathan, haven't you learned anything?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You told me no more secrets! This affects me and the baby as much as it affects you and you weren't going to bother to tell me."

"I told you, not right away.. I wanted to protect you."

"Oh that's just wonderful." Haley said sarcastically. "Kind of like how you protected me all those years ago by breaking up with me and going to Maryland."

_Ouch_, Nathan thought to himself. "Hales.."

"Or how you knocked me up and left the next morning!"

"Hales, those were different!"

"How?" Haley pleased. "You had some misguided idea that by shutting me out, you were protecting me."

"Hales, this woman wants to exploit our child!"

"You still don't get it Nathan, how are we suppose to raise a child when you can't be honest with me? This affects all three of us and just like that you're going to make a decision without even consulting me. I'm not some kid! I'm a big girl Nathan, I can handle it."

Nathan felt like someone punched him in the guts. He shook his head, what he told Lucas earlier was right. Nothing he did would ever be good enough.

"Hales, I'm not trying to shut you out or lie to you and I'm not trying to treat you like a child.. but you are with child and I didn't want to worry you or stress you out, please."

Haley closed her eyes and tried to regain her composure. She knew her hormones were raging on her and she knew Nathan's intentions were good, despite how she felt.

"Ok Nathan, I don't want to fight with you."

"Thank you." Nathan sighed. "Look, have a seat, you want something to eat or drink?"

"Luke said he's bringing food from the café after he closes up but I can go for a glass of milk." Haley said as she sat down.

Nathan got a glass and poured her a glass. He took a seat next to her.

"So.." Haley took a sip. "Are you even going to ask?"

"Ask what?"

"What else Nathan? Don't you want to know what I think about this whole thing?"

"I'm sorry." Nathan mumbled. "What do you think?"

"I think you shouldn't pay her. It's a lot of money."

"It's my money and I want to do this. I know it's not right but what's important is you and the baby.. I .. I can't put a price tag on that."

Haley smiled and found her hand reaching for his cheeks and caressing it. Nathan was a little bit surprised but wasn't complaining as he leaned into her touch.

"You're sweet you know that." Haley smiled and Nathan smiled back. Then just as quickly, her smile faded and she lightly smacked Nathan across the cheeks. "But you're an idiot."

"Huh?" Nathan was so confused. Damn, her hormones.

"I don't want you to pay her."

"But she'll tell the press."

"Not if we tell them first."

"Wait, what?"

Haley took another sip.

"Nathan, my bump is getting bigger and no amount of loose clothing can cover it up. People will know I'm pregnant."

"But we agreed that you wouldn't mention me."

"Yes we did but that doesn't mean people will still gossip about me or say things about me behind my back. Think about it, what people will say about a single pregnant woman."

"Yes but that won't make headline news."

"I'll still feel like I'm in a fish bowl." Haley admitted. "Plus I've started thinking and I know we're trying to do this for the baby but how will our son feel, knowing that I didn't want to admit to the world that you're the father. Look Nathan, despite our past, you deserve to love and protect this baby equally with me and by not acknowledging you as the father, I'm saying the opposite. I don't want our son to be ashamed of who his father is."

Nathan felt his heart beating wildly in his chest from Haley's words.

"I'm not ashamed that you're the father." Haley admitted a second later. "I know this pregnancy wasn't planned but I'm glad it's with you." Haley took her hand and placed it over his.

Nathan placed his other hand on top of hers and brought her hands to his lips and kissed it. God he loved this woman and it took everything in him to not maul her and kiss her silly.

"I .. I don't know what to say."

"Say you won't pay her off." Haley joked as she took her hand back. Suddenly the room felt very hot.

"But if we go public about this, the press will be after you."

"I know."

"They can be pretty brutal."

"I know but look at how you handled the Alex situation, you guys didn't make a big deal about her sex tape, you took the high road and the press has eased off and from what you told me, Alex was grateful for the statement you made. I know the press will probably link this back to you and Alex but as long as you and Alex don't make a big deal out of it, I'm sure the press will stop caring and they'll move onto something else."

Nathan smiled and nodded. He didn't like the idea of the press finding out about this but at the same time, it would be nice not to hide anything anymore. Nathan had been in the spot light for a while now and knew how short the attention span of the media can be.

"Okay, we'll go public but you need to do something for me."

"What?" Haley asked.

"I want you to stop working."

"Nathan!"

"Or at the very least, just stick behind the counter and lessen your hours."

"Nathan, that's all good and well but unlike some people, I need to worry about bills and expenses."

"You're talking to the person who was willing to shell out half a million dollars to some stranger." Nathan smirked. "I know I still have a few more games before the season ends and I won't be here as much until the season ends.."

"But I can't just take your money." Haley interrupted.

"You're not taking, I'm offering and you just told me that when it comes to our baby, we are the ones to love him and take care of him. You're doing your part by letting him grow inside of you and the best thing you can do is to eat well and take it easy and what I can do is help pay the bills to ensure that you eat well and take it easy."

"Nathan.. I'll take it easy I promise but I can't.. I can't take your money."

"Well I guess I'm paying this Rachel person off."

"Nathan, you can't!"

"Yes I can." Nathan sat back and cross his arms. "I'll agree to not pay Rachel off in exchange for you taking it easy and letting me help you."

"Nathan Scott you are the most stubborn man I've ever met."

"And you Haley James are the most stubborn woman I've ever met.. also the cutest." He winked. "Look Hales, this is not a hand out. We both want what's best for our son, so please Hales. Let me do this." Nathan pleaded as he took her hand in his. "Besides, I don't want our son to think his old man was cheap."

"Fine." Haley finally cracked a smile. "You have a deal."

Nathan nodded and smiled.

"You know who ever is trying to black mail you will be pissed."

"Good." Nathan leaned back. "The bitch deserves it."

"Nathan, don't curse in front of munchkin!" Haley admonished him and rubbed her belly.

"First, we need a better name than munchkin, second, I doubt he even know what bitch means."

"Nathan!" Haley gasped back. "Stop being a potty mouth!"

"Potty mouth, Hales, they say that stuff on tv."

"Then I guess isn't watching tv and you need to watch out what he's saying. I knew all that all that crap rap music you listened to would come back to haunt me."

"Whoa.. whoa.. whoa, my music is not crap.. beat's the emo shit you listen to."

"See, there you go again!" Haley pointed out. "And my music is not emo, it's timeless."

"I hardly call Chris Keller's music timeless .. now his videos on the other hand is a youtube classic at this point." He smirked.

"I buy one Chris Keller CD and you'll never let that one go." Haley rolled her eyes.

"Now his music is crap."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not."

Nathan smirked. "Hey Hales?"

"What? She huffed out."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being you." Nathan said sincerely and smiled warmly.

Haley blushed and looked down.

Nathan sat back and poured himself a glass of milk, thinking that this day turned out a whole lot better than he thought it would.

To Be Continued . . . .


	14. When It Isn't Like It Should Be

The Search for Something More

Chapter 14 - When It Isn't Like It Should Be

Sorry it took me so long. I was recently injured and my foot was broken and had to deal with that, work, weddings, and now I'm in the middle of moving, plus my laptop got a virus, so as you can tell I really fell behind. But thanks for your patience and to those that reviewed. I hope you guys are still reading. A couple of things happen in this chapter and things will get interesting. You guys keep me motivated with this story, so please share your thoughts.

But I want to say, yay for season 8 ! I'm so happy and now all we need to do is drop the dead weight of the show, then all will be alright. Lol.

Enjoy and please review!

. . . . .

"_Why are we here again?" Nathan asked as he picked up a small stuffed animal. "You could've just left me at the arcade you know." He turned around at smirked at Haley._

_Haley rolled her eyes. "I told you, I need to find something for my sister's baby shower."_

"_Can't you just get her a gift card or something?" Nathan put the animal down._

"_Nathan, she's family, I can't just give a gift card, that's so tacky." _

"_Why? She can get whatever she wants anyways."_

"_That's not the point." Haley rolled her eyes again. "Men." She mumbled. _

"_Come on, the faster we leave the faster we can get back to your place." Nathan went up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her waste. "Didn't you say, you're parents were eating out tonight with some friends." He whispered into her hear sending Haley's stomach into a fit of butterflies._

"_Down boy." Haley laughed and pulled away from his embrace and went over to another isle full of baby toys. _

"_What do you think of this?" Haley turned around carrying a small teddy bear dressed in a soccer outfit._

"_Soccer?" Nathan grimaced. "Seriously Hales?" _

"_What, it's cute?" _

"_It's soccer." Nathan pointed out and picked up another stuffed bear dressed in a basketball jersey. "Now this is better." _

_Haley chuckled. "Of course, basketball."_

"_What else would it be?" Nathan reasoned. _

"_But the soccer bear's outfit is so much cuter."_

"_You've been spending too much time with Brooke." Nathan pointed out and put the stuffed animal back down._

"_You act like I'm buying this bear for you, this is for my sister." _

"_Fine if you want to give that hideous gift but I'm telling you now Hales, in our kid's crib, I better not see any soccer teddy bears… or soccer balls in general." Nathan added. He stopped when he looked at Haley, who was looking at him curiously. It was then that Nathan realized what he just said._

"_Our kid huh?" Haley raised her eyebrow._

"_Well you know what I mean." Nathan mumbled and proceeded to walk to the next isle._

"_Actually I don't." Haley followed him. "Do you really see us with a child of our own?" Haley asked._

"_Well not now, I mean we're still in high school.. but yeah...someday. " He shrugged._

"_Really?" Haley asked, her heart beating a little faster. She'd be lying to herself that she never imagined a life for her and Nathan and a house full of their kids._

"_Hales, I can already hear that big brain of yours working." Nathan smirked._

"_Do you really see yourself one day with little kids running around?" Haley asked._

"_No." Nathan quickly replied, then his lips curled to a genuine smile. _

"_I see US." _

Haley look down at the stuff animal in her hand and shook her thoughts of the past away. Nathan was late and he hadn't called yet. She still felt a little bit out of place in her new outfit. Instead of the loose tops she normally wore, this was a little bit more snug and hugged her growing belly. When she walked inside the baby store, the clerk greeted her and congratulated her on her baby. It was weird answering questions about her baby to an unknown stranger. The only people she discussed the baby with were a select few.

She was already nervous about going public with her pregnancy and even more nervous about announcing to the world who the father was. But in her heart, she knew this was the right choice. Nathan had his fair share of mistakes but he deserved to love this baby equally with her. She still felt guilty about not telling him about her mother or Dan for that matter but she honestly didn't know how. No one knew, not even Lucas. Everything between them had been so serious and heavy, she didn't want to deal with the drama, at least not now. Denial could be a very powerful tool.

"I thought we talked about this." Nathan came out of nowhere, surprising Haley as he took the teddy bear from her hands and putting it down.

"No way our kid is playing soccer." He smirked and picked up a small stuffed basketball and tossed it into the shopping cart he brought over.

"You and basketball." Haley shook her head. "You're late."

"Sorry but you know how Lucas takes forever in the bathroom."

"Lucas or you?" Haley quipped, knowing that both brothers probably took as much time getting ready as most girls.

"Cute." Nathan deadpanned.

"Nathan, I thought we agreed to buy a few items, what're you doing with a shopping cart?"

"Hales." Nathan whined. "The boy needs clothes, toys, let's not even get into the crib, car seat, stroller."

"Okay, okay. But I just wanted to pick up only a few items." Haley reasoned. Thinking about the future was something she also liked to tuck away, thinking about how they would have to buy two of everything, one for her and one for him. He heart grew heavier and she didn't want to think about that, right now, she'd settle for some outfits and maybe some toys.

"Are you sure you want to do this Hales?" Nathan asked a second later. "A couple of people already recognized me, it'll be a matter of time before the press gets wind."

Haley nodded. "No, I'm tired of hiding Nathan, plus we don't want to give anyone ammo to blackmail you. I still can't believe the nerve of some people."

"Well thank you for doing this." Nathan smiled and took her hand and kissed it. Before Haley could react, Nathan had already motioned for her to follow him.

. . . . .

Clay put the phone away from his ringing ears.

"Clay! Clay! Are you even there!"

"Yeah, Antwon I'm here."

"Don't Antwon me. I can't believe you're only telling me now that Nathan… Nathan Scott, one of our biggest clients, knocked some girl up!"

"Don't tell Nathan that. She's not some girl."

"Ex girl friend.. whatever! Point is, I should've been told."

"Look, I'm sorry Skills but Nathan didn't want everyone to know." Clay replied innocently.

"But now he does. I'm already pulling up pictures from the web of Nathan baby shopping from earlier today!"

"Damn, they work fast." Clay mumbled.

"Who is this woman, what do we even know about her?"

"Her name is Haley James, she was Nathan's high school girlfriend."

"An old flame, okay maybe we can spin this."

"There's nothing to spin Skills. From what Nathan told me, they both had a little too much to drink and well you know what happened."

"You sure she didn't get him drunk?"

"Skills, look, it's nothing like that."

"Really? Cuz what I see is some girl getting knocked up to a very wealthy and successful young man with everything to lose and she has only everything to gain." Skills pointed out.

"Skills, I'm telling you now, don't talk like that around Nathan or else he'll kick your ass. He loves her man."

"Love? Are you on crack?"

Clay chuckled. "I'm serious man, he loves her and I think she still loves him."

"Well that's just great?" Skills switched his phone to his other ear and ran his hand through his bald head. "Look, you can't just drop this bomb on me and expect me to be happy."

"Well you should be cuz Nathan is."

"Whatever, I still don't trust this James woman."

"You don't have to worry about Haley, from what I can tell, she's as straight as an arrow but what I need is info on this Rachel woman who tried black mailing Nathan."

"Don't worry, I'm already on it." Skills vowed. "Unless Haley is the one responsible for this Rachel trying to blackmail us."

"Skills." Clay rubbed his forehead. "I told you, Haley is a good person. She wouldn't do that."

"For Nathan's sake, I hope you're right." Skills mumbled.

. . . . .

Haley looked around to make sure no one was around.

"Don't worry Hales, I lost the press a few miles ago, we're good."

"You sure?" Haley asked as they approached her front door.

"Yes, now would you open the door, I'm starting to loose my grip on these bags." Nathan complained.

Haley shook her head as she opened the door. "Well maybe if you let me carry some.."

"Just open the door." Nathan whined as Haley opened the door and Nathan stepped inside.

"Just put it in the living room." Haley closed the door behind her and followed him into the living room. Nathan set the bags down and Haley took a seat on the couch and kicked off her shoes.

"Do you think we bought too much?" Haley surveyed the various bags on the floor.

Nathan shrugged. "You know how kids are, they'll be drooling and pooping away, we're going to need as much clothes as we can get."

Haley grimaced, she didn't need that mental image and headed for the sofa.

"My feet are killing me." Haley felt relieved to be sitting down. The pregnancy had made her feet a little swollen, she needed to start wearing more comfortable shoes.

"Here, let me take care of that." Nathan took a seat next to her and grabbed her legs so that they were over his lap.

"Nathan, what're you…" Haley nearly gasped as she felt Nathan's strong hands rubbing against her swollen dogs.

"Look you've had a long day walking around carrying our son, it's the least I can do." Nathan offered her a small smile as he continued to massage her feet.

Haley tried to protest, to tell him to stop but damn it felt good. Nathan's hands were always very .. skilled and she'd indulged herself for now. She didn't want to give him mixed signals. She may have forgiven Nathan but the last thing she wanted right now was to start a relationship with him.

"You were great today, you know that." Nathan stated.

"I'd hardly call smiling at the cameras hard work."

"No but I know how hard it was for you."

"Do you think the press will leave us alone now that they know?"

"Not anytime soon but eventually they'll get tired and move on. I already told Alex the situation and Clay's handling it. So long as none of us makes this a big deal then the press will get tired and they'll realize that there's no story here."

"I hope your right." Haley said softly.

"You let me worry about it. But I'm sure it'll be hard telling your family."

Haley tensed up. "Well my mom knows, I broke the news to her a few days ago. She's happy."

"But she would've been happier if I wasn't the father huh?"

"Nathan don't talk like that. She knows what you did but my mom is not the one to hold grudges .. that'd be me." Haley gave him a teasing smile.

Nathan chuckled and continued to massage her feet.

"But I told my mom that she can tell the rest of my family, I don't even want to turn on my phone yet."

"Yeah me too. God, I can only imagine what Dan has to say about this." Nathan shook his head. "I really don't want to face him."

"I'm sure he'll be happy for you." Haley said softly.

"Happy?" Nathan scoffed. "Hales, you're heart as always been too big, Dan Scott does not do happy. But I promise you that I'll do my best to keep him away from you and the baby."

"Nathan, that's not necessary." Haley cleared her throat as she wrestled to reveal to the truth about her mom's condition and Dan's involvement.

"Yes it is and Lucas agrees with me."

"Lucas?"

"Yeah, he'll be here to help you out while I'm gone." Nathan then took a deep breath. "Which will be pretty soon." He added.

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"That soon." Haley looked down.

"Yeah, the past few days have just flew."

Haley nodded in agreement.

"I.. I wish I can be here more."

"Me too." Haley accidentally blurted out and Haley looked up and saw Nathan's blue eyes curiously looking at her.

"So you'll miss me?" He smirked.

"The baby is getting bigger, it's just a shame you'll be missing out on that." She quickly recovered.

"Well I'll be back before you know it but I was wondering if you wanted to visit me?"

"In Seattle?"

Nathan shook his head. "We have an away game at Charlotte coming up, maybe you can go, I can get you and Lucas tickets? Shoot bring Peyton and Brooke too if you want."

"Umm.. is that a good idea?"

"I know there'll be a lot of people and press there but it's up to you. I'll understand if you don't want to go." Nathan looked down.

"I'll think about it." Haley replied, she could tell that Nathan wanted them to go. She figured that aside from Clay, Nathan never had anyone go to his games. Just then her stomach started to grumble.

"Hungry?" Nathan smiled.

"When am I not?" Haley joked.

"Want to do take out?" Nathan asked and Haley nodded.

"Chinese?" Nathan asked.

Haley's face scrunched up and she shook her head. Her baby definitely wasn't in the mood for Chinese.

Nathan chuckled. "Pizza?"

Haley's face lit up and she nodded.

"Okay, I'll order, what do you want?" Nathan whipped out his phone.

"Ohh.. get a pie with sausage and pinapple.. and get a side of garlic bread, baked ziti and calzones."

Nathan couldn't help but me amused. "Is that all?"

"Actually." Haley got up and headed over to the kitchen. "Let me get a menu."

Nathan got up and followed her. "Whatever you want."

. . . . . .

Rachel entered her apartment, her hands full of shopping bags.

"Where have you been?" Renee's voice boomed.

"Hello to you too." Rachel rolled her eyes. "If you couldn't already tell, I was at the mall." Rachel lifted her shopping bags.

"Why would you go shopping?" Renee questioned.

Rachel put her bags down and walked over to her and kissed her on the lips. "Because my love, we are going to be paid and I was doing some pre-celebration."

"You really think Nathan Scott is going to pay us?" Renee questioned.

"If he wants to keep his baby mama on the down low then yes." Rachel quipped. "Besides from what you told me, he's going to give in and we, my dear, will be rich."

"I hope you saved the receipts." Renee shook her head and turned on the television.

"Hello everyone, Maria Menounos here and boy do we have breaking news. NBA star Nathan Scott is expecting. You may remember Nathan who was last involved with actress Alex Dupre. It was only a short time ago that we learned of the sex tape between Chris Keller and Alex DuPree. Nathan claimed their break up was a mutual decision and quote:

I consider Alex a great person, a wonderful actress, and someone I consider to be a friend. Alex and I hold no grudge against each other.

But was Nathan Scott just covering the fact that he was expecting a child of his own. Our camera caught up to Nathan Scott in his home town of Tree Hill where he's shown here doing a little baby shopping with the mom to be. We have unconfirmed reports that the mother is an old flame from Nathan's past. The pair was seen leaving the store with a handful of baby clothes and toys. Reporters from the scene report that the pair looked happy and calm and that Nathan was beaming with pride.

On the phone right now is Clay Evans, Nathan Scott's agent.

"Hello, Clay are you there?"

"Yes, Maria, thanks for having me."

"Now I have to ask, what is going on? Nathan Scott is going to be a father? When did this happen?"

Clay laughed over the phone. "Believe me, we were surprised when we found out as well."

"So how did this happen?"

"Do you really need me to explain it?" Clay joked.

Maria laughed. "You know what I mean."

"The mother is indeed an ex girlfriend of Nathan's. She's from Tree Hill as well, her name is Haley James. Her and Nathan met up in town a couple of months ago when Nathan was visiting and well you know how what happened." Clay chuckled. "Like I said, this came as a surprise to all of us but Nathan is happy, the baby is healthy and we couldn't be more happier."

"So is Nathan and Haley an item?"

"Maria, this is the 21st century, these things happen and I can't speak for Nathan and Haley but I can tell you that they are very happy and excited about the baby."

"Listen Clay, I know you're a busy man, thanks for talking with us."

" Thanks for having me."

"You're welcome, give Nathan our best." Maria turned back to the camera and a paper was handed over to her.

"We are also receiving word from Alex DuPre's camp. In a message released from her publicist, she goes on to say:

I want to extend my congratulations to Nathan. He is a great guy and I know he will be a great father, I wish him the best.

"So there you have it folks, we have our panel here to weigh in on everything .."

Renee muted the television as Rachel's jaw was open and her veins ran cold.

. . . . .

"Thanks for having me over." Nathan said as Lucas put his car in gear and headed for the airport.

"No problem, let me know about those tickets."

"Yeah, definitely. And please keep an eye on Haley."

"You know I will."

"Thanks man, I owe you." Nathan waved off as he got into his rental.

"A new car would be just fine." Lucas smirked and Nathan smirked back.

"I'll think about it." Nathan chuckled. Nathan leaned back and his mind drifted to last night. They ordered dinner and he and Haley just hung out at Haley's house. After eating, they caught a movie on television but they both fell asleep to catch the end. Eventually, they both woke up and Nathan said his goodbye.

He could honestly say it was one of the best nights in his life. With out a doubt, he knew Haley was it for him. He could feel her walls coming down and knew that he just needed to continue proving himself to her. She had every right to be scared and weary of him but he'll show her.

They were passing by one of the main streets of Tree Hill now and was stopped at a red light. Nathan turned to his side and noticed a woman that look like Haley sitting in one of the coffee shops. It was then that he saw _him _and Nathan's eyes grew wide.

"Julian." Nathan muttered in a low voice and he saw Julian walk up to Haley. They shared a hug Haley motioned for Julian to sit. Nathan clenched his teeth and balled up his fist. He couldn't believe this, he thought they weren't even talking to each other anymore. Why was she meeting him? Has she always been seeing him? He was so confused. He continued to look on, even as the light turned green and the car started moving.

"Nathan!" Lucas' voice boomed.

"Huh?" Nathan was brought back to reality.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Nathan cleared his throat.

Lucas squinted at his brother. "I was asking who you guys were facing next."

"The bulls." Nathan replied and looked back but he could no longer see them anymore.

"Hey Luke."

"Yeah?"

"Is Haley .. I mean.." Nathan tried to find the words.

"You can form sentences right?" Lucas teased.

"Look, is Haley still seeing Julian?"

"Where is this coming from?"

"Luke, just answer the question." Nathan rubbed his forehead.

Lucas chuckled. "No, she isn't. They broke up a while ago .. they haven't even talked in weeks."

Nathan's heart dropped. "Really?"

"Why?" Luke asked curiously.

Nathan shook his head, "Nothing."

"You sure you're okay."

"Yeah." He lied.

After getting dropped off the airport. He and Lucas shared their goodbyes. He dropped off his bags at check in but he was still in a sour mood. They're not together. He kept telling himself. They broke up a long time ago but his mind was still plagued. What if she decided that she wanted to be with him, what then? Nathan felt like he was about to loose it. He took a deep and tried to relax. He was getting himself worked up for nothing, but what Lucas said played over in his mind. It was clear that Julian and Haley still kept in touch, but the fact that she was hiding it from Lucas made him weary. Maybe she and Julian got back together and she didn't want anyone to know. Maybe that's why she was so okay with telling the world about her pregnancy. God, he waking himself sick.

Nathan continued to walk through the terminal to his gate and stopped dead in his tracks.

"I hear congratulations are in order."

"What're you doing here?" Nathan questioned.

"Seeing as you don't return any of my calls, I figured I'd stop by before you leave. Now come on and give your old man a hug.. dad." Dan smiled as he stepped forward and hugged Nathan.

Nathan took a step back, obviously shocked. He suddenly couldn't wait to get out of Tree Hill.

To Be Continued . . . .


	15. The Games That Play Us

The Search for Something More

Chapter 15 - The Games That Play Us

Sorry is all I can say for the delayed update. Unfortunately, real life got the best of me and I really had no time to update at all. See the Author's note last chapter to see why. I'm hoping things are going to get a little calmer now and I will be able to update more frequently again. Thank you for those who stuck by me with this story. This chapter will def. cover some ground and I hope you enjoy and I'm getting ready to write the next chapter. So thanks again for the patience and please review, I write these things for you guys cuz I know how the story ends lol, so please drop a line and keep, it helps keep me motivated!

. . . . .

_"Get your head out of your ass Scott!" Whitey yelled, shaking Nathan from his thoughts._

_"Yeah." Nathan turned to Lucas._

_"He was talking to you, dumbass." Lucas rolled your eyes._

_"Is this a social call.. both of you move!" Whitey yelled back and turned around back to his play book._

_"Look what you did." Nathan pointed out._

_"Me.. if you'd actually pay attention during warm ups, maybe Whitey wouldn't be yelling at us."_

_"Maybe if you mind your own business." Nathan replied back and continued looking around._

_"She's not coming you know." Lucas smirked, enjoying the feeling of filing getting a rise out of Nathan._

_"What're you talking about?"_

_"Haley. She's not showing up."_

_"Who said I was looking for Haley?" Nathan tried to play it off._

_"Really.. you're gonna go there?" Lucas smirked wider._

_"So what if I was looking for her.. what's it to you?"_

_"She's my best friend."_

_"Right, if that's your story." Nathan replied sarcastically._

_"What's that supposed to mean?"_

_"You claim to be her best friend but we both know that's a load of crap. I come into the picture and now you go all caveman, not my fault she didn't want you.. can't say I don't blame her." Nathan looked at Lucas up and down.._

_"You're really that dumb huh? I don't like Haley.. at least not in that way. Gross." Lucas shook his head. "Look, Haley's a good girl, she's not one of your skanks and if you ever hurt her."_

_"Not like I have to explain my self to you but I won't.. Haley's.. different… and if you're going to keep bugging me about her then.."_

_"Then what?" Luke interrupted and crossed his arms._

_"Then we're going to have a problem because whether you like it or not, Haley and I are together."_

_"Haley and I." Lucas repeated Nathan's words. "Maybe there is hope for you yet." Lucas started to walk away._

_"Lucas!" Nathan called out and Lucas turned around._

_"Haley.. she.. she likes me right?" Nathan couldn't believe he asking Lucas this but he needed to know. Ever since he came to grips with his feelings for Haley, everything seemed to have turned around. He couldn't tell up from down and with each passing minute, he wanted Haley more and more but the problem was if she wanted him. Sure they'd have make out sessions but it never went any further than that and Nathan didn't want to push her but he can feel her pulling away from him. He knew she wasn't the type of girl to sleep around nor did he want her to be that girl. Hhe wanted her just the way she was. The problem was him. Was he good enough for her? One day, will she realize that she can do better? He never doubted himself before but then again he never met a girl like Haley before._

_"Where is this coming from?"_

_"Never mind." Nathan mumbled to himself. He knew that was a bad idea._

_"So she's already tired of you huh?"_

_"Wait, she said that?"_

_Lucas started to laugh._

_"You ass." Nathan glared at Lucas._

_"You really like her huh?" Lucas asked._

_Nathan just nodded._

_"Just don't hurt her okay?"_

_"I won't."_

_Lucas nodded back. "And I don't know why but she likes you too." Then he looked out in the crowd and Nathan followed his line of sight and saw Haley sitting with Karen. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Lucas looked back between the two of them and almost wanted to laugh himself. Who knew that the person to bring Nathan Scott to his knees would be Haley James._

. . . .

Haley adjusted her hat and awkwardly made her way towards the gym, her hands nervously in her pockets. Relax, she told herself as all eyes were on her as she made her way through the crowd. This wasn't the first basketball game she was going to but this time it was different. Was it only a few short weeks ago that she was just plain old Haley James? Now she was dating Nathan Scott, star of the basketball team. She couldn't believe how much has changed ever since Lucas joined the basketball team.

She still wasn't used to stares and the whispers, in fact it made her very uncomfortable, but she figured that it goes with the territory of being Nathan Scott's girlfriend.. date.. ergh.. whatever. She still wasn't sure what they were, dating yes, girlfriend, who knows. She definitely needed the "talk" with Nathan, well maybe if he tore his lips away from hers long enough to actually talk then maybe she would know.

She suddenly felt very hot just thinking about him, her lips on his, his hands roaming her body. She shook her head and brought herself back to reality. The things Nathan did to her, made her feel, she wasn't used to it but damn, she was getting addicted to it. Seeing a familiar face, Haley sighed in relief and made her way up in the stands.

"Haley, you made it." Karen smiled warmly and scooted over so that Haley can take a seat.

"Hey Karen."

"You okay, you seem a little pale?" Karen asked curiously.

Haley looked around her, the stares and whispers still evident. Not only was she dating one of the most popular guys in school, she was best friends with his half brother slash arch nemesis. She was the talk of the school and Haley prayed for someone else to take the spot light.

"I'm fine." Haley plastered a smile.

Karen laughed dismissively. "You're talking to me Hales, I see how everyone is looking at you."

"What're you talking about?" Haley played dumb.

"Dating the high school basketball star, what did you expect?"

"Not this." Haley mumbled and pulled back a stray hair behind her ear.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Come next week, you'll be old news."

"I hope you right." Haley started to feel a little bit more comfortable. The cheerleaders just came out and thankfully most of the people started staring at them rather at her. She was happy that Karen was open to her relationship with Nathan. It's not like Karen completely approved of Nathan but she was grateful that Karen was letting her do her own thing. Lucas, on the other hand, was still a work in progress. Both brothers managed to call a truce, for now, but the two were far from being friendly too each other.

"Well imagine being pregnant and half the town looking and staring at you, then come talk to me." Karen joked.

Haley smiled back and looked onto the court where her eyes locked with Nathan's. The smile he gave her sent butterflies into her stomach and she couldn't help but smile back.

. . . .

"You okay Hales?" Lucas asked.

"Everyone's looking at me." Haley turned to her best friend.

"Of course they're looking, they're curious." Lucas looked down to Haley's prominent bump. "You are after all carrying Nathan's child."

Haley looked around at the nearly packed arena and she felt like she was in a fish bowl.

"Just having a weird sense of déjà vu." Haley replied back and turned her head back towards the court, where the Sonics were warming up. She caught Nathan looking at them and he smiled and waved to them both. Tonight was the last night of the regular season. Unfortunately, the team's record wasn't that good this year and were unable to head into the post season. Nathan's absence due to his injury affected the

team greatly but even with Nathan back and winning more games, their record wasn't good enough to move on.

"He's happy you're here." Lucas commented.

Haley rolled her eyes. "I'm here as a friend, it was bad enough I missed the Charlotte game a few weeks ago.. and besides, this will probably be the last time I'm able to fly considering I'm ballooning up with each passing minute."

"Hey, the bigger you are, the taller my nephew will be."

"Do you and Nathan always equate everything to basketball?"

"Umm.. not everything." Lucas cleared his throat. "So you just decided to come to Seattle?"

"In fact, I did." Haley replied nonchalantly. "I needed to get away from Tree Hill."

"Tree Hill or Julian?"

"Luke.." Haley whined.

"Look, I'm just saying." Lucas threw his hands up in mock surrender. "You've just been hanging out with Julian a lot lately."

"We're friends." Haley shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"Right." Lucas said sarcastically.

"Don't do this now." Haley warned. "Besides, we're here to support Nathan." Haley shushed him and turned back to the court, where they were getting ready for tip off. She was glad that the focus would be on the game rather than her. It had been a month since they'd gone public with the pregnancy and just as expected, the press was all over it. Haley was patient and didn't try to be bothered by all the attention. Sure enough, after a few weeks, things calmed down and it wasn't as bas as she thought it would be. Having to explain everything to her family, now that was stressful.

. . . . . .

"Good game bro." Lucas walked through the locker room and towards Nathan.

"Thanks man." The two shared a typical man hug and pulled back.

"Where's Hales?" Nathan looked behind Lucas.

"Her feet were killing her so she's waiting for us in the limo."

"Oh okay good." Nathan nodded. "I'm glad you guys were able to come. I'm sorry I wasn't able to meet you sooner.. just so busy."

"Yeah man, no problem. I mean having a brother in the NBA definitely has his it's perks." Lucas looked around at the various NBA players around him.

"Come on, let me introduce you." Nathan smirked and led Lucas off to introduce him to his team mates. After some picture taking and chit chat, Lucas and Nathan started to make their way out of the arena. They didn't want to keep Haley waiting too long.

Lucas heard his phone go off and looked at the text message he received.

"Shit." He muttered to himself.

"What happened?"

"That was the publishing company, I need to send them corrections that I thought were due next week. Crap, I think I need to go straight to the hotel and work on this."

Lucas was about to put his phone away when it started to ring again. Lucas promptly ended the call.

"They stalking you now?" Nathan joked.

"It wasn't them."

"Then who was it?" Nathan asked.

"You don't want to know."

At the tip of tongue, Nathan wanted to ask if it was Julian. "Who?"

"Dan."

"Oh." Nathan kept walking.

"He keeps calling me."

"I know the feeling." Nathan admitted.

"I don't know.. you think we should talk to him?" Lucas stopped and turned to Nathan.

"You can talk to him." Nathan pointed out. "I'm done with him."

"But he's dying."

"Supposedly dying." Nathan corrected. "The guy shows up out of the blue at the airport.. right before I'm about to board my flight mind you.. and talks to me about some lame story about him dying and needing a heart transplant."

"Nate, I told you, it's for real. I spoke to the doctor myself."

"Do I want him to die? No. But if he expects us to all be one big family, then no, that's not going to happen. Whatever that doctor told you, Dan Scott needed a new heart a long time ago." Nathan turned back on his heels and continued walking to the exit.

. . . . . .

"I can't believe you did this." Haley held onto the railings and looked back onto the skyline.

After dropping Lucas back to his hotel room, Nathan decided to change plans and take their dinner to go and pack it into the ferry ride that he and Haley were currently on.

"Well, I knew you guys have to leave tomorrow, I wanted to make sure you at least saw the city at night." Nathan leaned over the railings next to Haley.

"It's beautiful out here." Haley commented, taking in the view.

"I know what you mean." Nathan replied back, his eyes never leaving Haley. She tried to avoid his heated gaze. She was second guessing her decision to go out with Nathan, especially without Lucas.

"So you played well." Haley tried to change topics.

"I was okay." Nathan shrugged.

"But you guys won the game."

"Yeah, but our season's still over."

"Well you have next season."

Nathan cleared his throat. "Yeah, I guess. But I hope you were okay. I should've gave you box seats or had them wheel you in."

Haley laughed. "Nathan, I'm pregnant not crippled. The seats were fine, I just wore the wrong shoes."

"But still, maybe you shouldn't be on your feet." Nathan motioned to a nearby bench.

"Don't mind if I do." Haley took a seat as did Nathan.

"Well one good thing with the season over, I can see you more." Nathan looked into Haley's eyes. Haley felt the heat start to rise. Nathan saw her shift uncomfortably and the last thing he wanted to do was to make her feel that way.

"And the baby." He added. Putting his hand on her belly, rubbing it slightly, he added. "I can't believe that in a couple of more months, he's going to be here."

"I know, it's exciting but at the same time.."

"Completely terrifying." Nathan joked.

"More like scared shit." Haley joked back.

"Couldn't agree more but we'll do it together."

"Yep." Haley nodded. "So are you going to stay at Lucas when you come back?"

Nathan pulled his hand back. "Umm, I think I may have found a place.. I'm not sure yet but now that the season is over, I can figure all that stuff out but it'll be good to be back in Tree Hill."

"Even with your dad there?" Haley inquired.

"I'll manage but don't worry, I'm going to make sure he doesn't bother you. He hasn't been bothering you, right?"

"No, he hasn't." Haley shifted uncomfortably. She felt guilty about not telling Nathan what was going on between her and Dan. Part of the reason she came was to talk to him and smoothen things out before he goes back to Tree Hill.

"It's just, Luke told me what happened and his heart condition." When Haley found out that Dan had a heart condition, it suddenly made sense why he was always around the hospital. "I know that must've been hard to hear."

"Actually, I don't.. I don't feel anything." Nathan looked down. "I learned a long time ago that nothing I do will ever be good enough for him and so I cut him out of my life and I haven't looked back since."

"Nathan.."

"Hales, it's okay. I get it. You lost your father."

"Yes and I don't want you to go through what I did."

"Well my dad and Mr. James are two different people. I'm not saying I'm happy about it, despite what my feelings are towards Dan, I don't want the guy to die."

"I know that, but still he's still your dad. I would give anything to have another moment with my dad. And now with the baby on the way, our soon will never get to know his grandfather.. now it looks like it might be both his grandparents."

"Aww Hales.." Nathan frowned, seeing Haley upset.

"It's nothing." Haley sniffled and wiped a stray tear from her eyes.

"Hey, Hales.. it's okay. Your dad was a good man and we're going to make sure our son knows that."

"Nathan..." Haley straightened up.

"And whatever is going on with my dad, I'm sure he'll be fine. Besides, I think the less contact our son has with him the better."

"You don't mean that."

"Hales, you remember back in high school when you met my grandparents. My grandpa rode my dad all his life, my dad did it to me, then it was the both of them on my case, it ends with me. I don't want our son to go through what I did."

Haley's eyes filled with more tears. She desperately wanted to tell him about Dan but she couldn't, and call her a coward because maybe she was but she couldn't tell him, at least now.

"Hey Hales, don't cry please."

"It's just sad that's all." Haley sniffled and Nathan wiped another tear from her eyes. "I remember growing up and when my grandparents would visit.. and my grandma would teach me how to cook.. I just.. I just want that for our son."

"Our son will have that too.. I mean.. my mom's not the best cook but I know your's is." Nathan joked but Haley only cried harder.

"Hales, please don't cry.. you know I hate it when you cry."

"Our son won't have my mom." Haley choked out, her emotions getting the best of her.

"What.. what're you talking about?"

Haley looked away.

"Hey… Hales, what is it?" Nathan asked, putting his hand on her chin and making her look at him.

"My mom.. she's sick."

"What do you mean sick?"

"She has cancer." Haley choked out.

Nathan's went wide in shock. "Oh Hales.. I'm.. I'm so sorry." Nathan wasn't sure what to say.

"No.. don't say sorry."

"Hales?" Nathan was confused.

"She's been sick for a while now and I know I should've told you sooner but I couldn't and now she's in remission but in her condition, you never know and I'm.. I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Haley looked down, not able to stand the look of hurt on his face.

Nathan sat there for a second, unsure of what to do next.

"Nathan.. say something." Haley said softly.

"I'm not mad if that's what you wondering." Nathan stood up. "I mean, the mother of your child told you that her own mother has cancer.. I mean I have no right to get mad about that.. I mean it would've been nice if I was told about these things or if my dumbass brother would've warned me."

"Nathan, please don't be mad at Luke."

"I said I wasn't mad."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not!" He practically screamed. "I'm not." He said in a calmer voice and took a seat back next to her. "Look, I get it Hales, I get why you didn't tell me about your dad and now with your mom and if I'm mad at anyone, it's me.. I'm the reason why you can't tell me these things .. I .." Nathan was becoming frustrated and ran his hand through his hair.

"I want you to want me to tell me these things, I want you to open up to me, I want you to let me in, I want you to look at me like you used to and let me love you .. Haley, I love you, I want to be with you. God I know I hurt you Hales and I know that's the reason why you don't trust me but .." Nathan shook his head again and then looked up and Haley never saw him sadder. "I love you." He said softly.

"And I'm sorry about your mom." He added a moment later. "I hope she'll be okay."

"Thank you Nathan and I am sorry for not telling you, I'm not doing it on purpose or doing it out of spite. It's something I don't really like to talk about. And I do wish things were different between us but.."

"But it's not."

Haley nodded.

"I wish it was." Nathan said softly and took her hand in his. "You will fall in love with me again, Haley.. you'll see." He said not trying to be cocky but his tone carried a hint of desperation.

"Loving you was never the problem Nathan." Haley replied softly. "I look at you and don't' you think I remember how it was? God, even tonight I felt like were back in high school and I was in the stands watching you play. Everyone was looking at me, just like when I went to your first game after we started dating."

"Masonborough." Nathan interrupted and snorted. "You were sitting next to Karen and was wearing that goofy hat."

"Ok, you made your thoughts clear about my choice of wardrobe back then." Haley laughed.

"I scored 35 points that night and each basket was my own personal version of a Haley James pick up line."

"It worked." Haley couldn't help but smile.

"I'd say." Nathan eyed her baby bump.

Haley playfully rolled her eyes but she knew she had to be serious. She wanted to him about Dan but if tonight proved anything, it was that her emotions were on the fritz and Nathan's relationship with his dad was worst than she first realized. She couldn't tell him about this, not now when she was an emotional wreck. She didn't even mean to blurt out everything about her mom.

"Look Nathan, the point is that I do remember.. I remember the good .. and the bad. I'm sorry, I know that's not what you want to hear but it that's the truth."

Nathan squeezed her hand. "Good."

Haley looked at him curiously.

"I'm not asking you to forget all the times I screwed up.. I don't want you too.. I mean how else are we going to move forward." Nathan placed a soft kiss on her cheeks and stood up, a small smirk on his face as he made his way up to the captain of the ferry to tell them to go back to shore.

. . . . . .

Nathan got out of the elevator with an extra step in his walk. He just came back from dropping Haley off at her hotel room. He was glad Lucas had to work tonight so that he can have some alone time with Haley. For the past month, he'd been wracking his brain over what to do and wondering if she was with Julian. But tonight proved to him that it didn't matter. There was still something there between the two of them and he knew it was going to take time but he'd break her walls and she would let him back in again. The news about Lydia was surprising to say the least but it made him admire Haley even more. He felt hurt that she didn't tell him sooner but that only fueled him to try harder with her. He didn't realize how much she'd gone through these past five years but he was more determined that he wouldn't let her go through with it alone. It was after all his fault that they weren't together but he can feel her slowly coming around. And now with him going back to Tree Hill, it was only a matter of time when they would be back together.

He opened the door to his condo and was surprised to hear his TV on in the living room.

"There you are." Clay appeared.

"Oh God." Nathan was startled at first. "I knew it was a bad idea to give you a copy of my keys."

"Finally." Skills appeared as well. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Out." Nathan eyed the two wearily. "What're you two doing here so late?" Nathan walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Sorry Nate but Skills insisted we see you." Clay spoke.

"Couldn't it wait until tomorrow, I'm a little tired and I need to pack. Clay, I want to head over to Tree Hill as soon as possible."

"You sure you want to do that?" Skills asked.

"Of course." Nathan replied. "Look guys, it's late. Can we just do this tomorrow?"

Skills pulled out a folder and placed it on the counter and slid it towards Nathan.

"What is this?"

"Look Nathan, I'm saying this as your friend and your agent, we are just trying to protect you." Skills spoke up.

"Clay's my agent." Nathan replied cockily.

"Well, I'm his boss.. Look Nate, will you just look at the folder?"

"What's it about?" Nathan asked and then turned to Clay. "Clay?"

"Nate man, I'm sorry but it's about Haley." Clay replied regretfully.

"What about her?"

"She's playing you dawg.. she's been playing all of us."

"Listen Skills, that's the mother of my child you're talking to." Nathan warned.

"Really?" Skills sarcastically replied back. "Look man, when I found out about Haley, I decided to do some investigating on my own."

"You did not." Nathan was getting annoyed. Nathan pushed the folder back to Skills. "You two can go now!"

"Nate, I'm sorry man but I looked at what's inside, you might want to read it." Clay replied.

"Whatever it is, I don't care."

Skills turned to Clay and shook his head. "This chick got you so wound up, you can't even see straight."

"Skills, I'm warning you."

"Dawg, she's been playing you. Did you even do a paternity test?"

"No and I don't need to." Nathan's voice grew louder.

"You sure cuz she's been spotted with a some douche.. Julian Baker where a little birdie told me that they used to go out."

"I know that dumbass and it doesn't matter. They're not together."

"Are you sure? Cuz I found out that he recently made a big purchase recently." Skills opened the folder and showed a photo of Julian at a jewelry store.

"You were spying on him?" Nathan couldn't believe this.

"No, that was surveillance footage. It seems that there was an alert on his credit card account when he made a big purchase for an engagement ring."

"Look, I was just with Haley and believe me, there was no ring on her fingers."

"Well of course, she took it out."

Nathan laughed. "Look, even if he did ask her to marry her, she didn't say yes."

"How do you know?"

"I know. And if she did, it doesn't matter. I've known her for a long time and if she says the kid is mine then the kid is mine! And this Julian guy, give it some time and she'll forget all about him. Haley, my son and I are going to be a family and I swear to God Skills, if you weren't my friend, I'd knock you out right now."

"Dawg, she's playing you.." Skills said heatedly.

"Look Nate…" Clay stepped in. "We're just looking out for you and I mean I didn't know any of this until Skills told me earlier tonight. But he's found out some interesting things man. Look, there are things she's keeping from you."

"Oh really, like what?" Nathan said sarcastically.

"I know you found out about Haley's dad but do you know about her mom?"

"That she has cancer." Nathan quickly bit back. "Yes, I know. She told me. Did she tell me right away about it no but that doesn't matter."

"And it doesn't matter that your dad paid for her cancer treatment." Skills spoke up.

"What?" Nathan was taken a back.

"There's a lien against Lydia James' house and the lienholder is none other than Dan Scott." Skills pulled out a statement from the folder. "It's public record, it's all there. One hundred fifty thousand dollars was loaned out to the James family, which Haley signed for to pay for her mother's treatment."

"No.. there's no way." Nathan scanned through the documents.

"Nate man.." Clay spoke sympathetically. "I know this must be hard to hear, I mean I met Haley but everything you told me about your dad and now this.. I mean the funds were transferred just before Haley went to San Francisco to tell you about the pregnancy."

"Look Nate." Skills added. "Look dawg, Clay told me about your phycho dad and now he's coming out of nowhere with some heart disease and now he's paying Haley off. Bottom line is that I don't trust this woman and neither should you."

To Be Continued . . . .


	16. Return of the Future

The Search For Something More

Chapter 16 - Return of the Future

Thank you all for the reviews and feed back. They mean everything. Again sorry for the delay but real life sucks sometimes lol. I also had writer's block and rewrote certain scenes. Anyways, I modeled Nathan's house as the house we saw in season 5. Enjoy the chapter and please review!

. . . . .

Walking down the cereal isle, Haley struggled with getting Frosted Flakes or Coco Puffs. She had just came from the produce isle, where she got the bananas she was craving for but now she was stuck. It seemed her little one couldn't decide what he was in the mood for. She's had cravings, nothing too weird or out there but this was the first time she actually couldn't take it anymore and left the house to get some groceries. Pushing her cart along, she decided to just get both but stopped dead in her tracks where she eyed the various flavors of Cheerios.

It was late so she was thankful that there weren't too many people in the store. People have been coming up to her and for the most part they have been friendly but she liked the silence and the feeling of being normal. Finally done with the cereals, she made her way to her last stop, the dessert isle.

"Ohh sorry." Haley apologized as she turned the corner and nearly bumped into someone. Haley blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "Nathan?"

Putting the bottle of soda in his cart, he turned to her not acting at all surprised to see her.

"Oh hey." He said casually and turned back to grab another bottle.

"Umm.. I didn't know if you were back or not."

"I got in today, but there's like no food at my house. Is the baby okay? You're here pretty late."

"Just some late night cravings." She pointed to the three boxes of cereal she had.

"Oh okay." Nathan nodded and gave a polite smile, then he turned back around to grab some chips.

Something was up, Haley could tell. She last saw him a week ago at in Seattle. She hadn't heard from all week and she just assumed he was busy with the move and all. The only contact she had from him were text messages confirming the time of their doctor's appointment tomorrow.

"So a house?" Haley didn't know he bought a house or was he renting.

"Yeah, some place across town, nothing fancy." He shrugged. "It's late Haley, you should go home and rest." He said with a touch of concern in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm just going to get some cookies and head out." Haley had grown accustomed to his over protectiveness.

"Oh okay. I'll see you at the appointment tomorrow." He looked down at her growing belly and gave a small smile before walking off in the opposite direction to get more things.

Haley stood there as she watched his retreating form, did she miss something?

. . . . . . .

Haley yawned as she checked her watch. She was currently in the waiting room and still no sign of Nathan. She'd toss and turn for most of the night after her encounter with Nathan at the grocery store. She was getting worried, something was wrong with him. He seemed almost aloof, not rude or anything but certainly not the Nathan she'd come to expect. Sure he told her to go home because it was late but the Nathan she knew would be offering to drive her, walk her to her door, and carry her groceries. Now, he didn't even call her or text her at all this morning. Every time he was in town, he'd always offered to drive her and go together. Nathan could sometimes be a little over bearing with her and the baby and for him to not even hear from him was unexpected. She was just about to call him when he entered through the doors.

"Hi." He gave a tight smile and sat next to her. "How's the baby?"

"He's good." Haley tried to relax, as she took his appearance. A simple black polo and jeans that hugged his form fit body just right, she observed. "You?"

"Good." He nodded and looked forward towards the receptionist.

Haley was about to open her mouth to say something but nothing came out as an awkward silence enveloped the room.

"Haley James?" The receptionist called out breaking up the silence and the two expectant parents stood up.

. . . . . . .

"I just need to take one last shot." The doctor pressed a button and froze the frame.

"So Haley is everything okay? Tiredness, any pain."

"Umm, nothing more than usual."

"That's good, like I said you and the baby are doing fine. The baby's growing as expected. If you plan on doing any more flying, you still can but in like three weeks I would caution against it until the baby is born." Haley nodded. "Just keep eating healthy, drink plenty of fluids, and rest and take naps. Do some light walking to keep your joints in place and it'll help circulate the blood and lessen any swelling on your legs and feet. Do you guys have any questions?"

"Nope." Haley and Nathan replied.

"Great, I'll see you next time. But before we go, here is a copy of the ultra sound." The doctor placed one copy in the file and handed the other to Nathan.

Looking down, he had a small smile on his face and then handed the small photo to Haley, who also beamed at looking at the small photo.

"Do you think I can have a copy for myself." Nathan asked and Haley whipped her head in surprise.

"Umm.. yeah sure." The doctor handed Nathan the other copy. "I'll just get the nurse to print another one for my records." The doctor stood up and said his goodbyes to them.

Haley looked back at Nathan as he stood up and put his copy in his back pocket.

"Alright, I'll see you later."

"You're leaving?" Haley questioned.

"Yeah, I got a ton of things to do." Nathan replied. "You're good for a ride right?"

"Yeah, I .. I drove." Haley was even more confused. "I thought maybe you wanted to grab lunch."

"Not today but you heard what the doctor said, healthy so tone it down with the sugar." Nathan smiled.

"Okay."

"Good." Nathan nodded and for a second, Haley could've sworn that he was going to reach out and touch her belly but he pulled his hand back. It was then that she realized that this whole time, he hadn't even touched her belly.

"I'll talk to you later." Nathan turned on his heel and headed out, leaving Haley alone and baffled on the examining table.

. . . . . .

There was only one place Lucas could think of where he could find Nathan and sure enough, there he was, alone on the River Court. It had been a few days since Nathan and Haley went to the doctor and this was the first time Lucas was going to see Nathan since he left Seattle the other week. Haley had expressed her concerns to Lucas that something was off with Nathan and after not hearing from Nathan for a while, Lucas agreed and sought out to find his brother.

"Nice shot." Lucas commented as Nathan made a three. Nathan glanced over to his brother and then ran over to get the ball and did a lay up.

"Alright, what is it?" Lucas asked. He could tell by Nathan's tense body movements that something was clearly bothering him.

"What're you talking about?" Nathan walked over to a nearby picnic table and grabbed a bottle of water and took a gulp.

"Haley's worried about you. "

Nathan scoffed and nearly choked on his water. "Right." He mumbled under his breath.

"Seriously, Nate, what's going on? I have to fly out to New York soon. I promised Haley, I'd talk to you."

"There's nothing wrong."

"Liar." Lucas smiled and grabbed the ball from Nathan's hand and took a shot. "So what is it? Thanks for returning my calls this past week by the way."

"I was just busy." Nathan bit back.

"Haley said you blew her off for lunch the other day."

"God, what's up with you two? So I didn't have lunch with her and I didn't call you back, the world must be coming to an end." Nathan said sarcastically.

"You didn't even call her before you guys went to the doctors and she said you were acting weird when she ran into you a few nights ago."

"What? I'm not giving her the attention she wants and now she's crying wolf to you. Please." Nathan rolled his eyes and put his bottle of water down.

Lucas had no more doubts, something was definitely wrong here and if Lucas had to put money on it, he'd had to guess that it had something to do with Haley.

"Is this about Haley not telling you about her mom?" Lucas took a guess.

"What?" Nathan looked at Lucas like she was crazy. "Oh and thanks for the heads up … _bro_." Nathan bit back the last part.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you but that wasn't my news to share and for your information, I told her to tell you but that's a very sensitive topic for Haley, she doesn't like to discuss it at all. So don't get mad at us for keeping something like that from you, it wasn't on purpose or anything."

"Really, cuz Haley has a way of hiding things from me.. the both of you." Nathan eyed his brother curiously.

He'd been shocked and hurt to find out that Haley had accepted money from Dan to pay for her mother. He already had enough to deal with. From his dad and now this with Haley, well he didn't know what to think any more and he had to wonder what Lucas knew. Skills practically begged him to have Haley do a paternity test and he accused her of trying to silicate money from him. It wouldn't be the first time that someone tried to use this "baby" against him. The thought of not being the father made him sick. Not only would he not be the father but that meant that somebody other than him was. He had to believe that Haley wouldn't have it in her to lie about something like this, especially when her child was also the nephew of her best friend. But still, the news of her and Dan rocked Nathan's world and he had to wonder if he really knew Haley at all.

"What aren't you telling me?" Nathan finally asked Lucas.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that I thought we moved past all this bullshit, that we're actually friends.. brothers.. so I'm asking you.. what else aren't you telling me?"

"Nathan, I really don't know what you're talking about. And you better not be mad about me not telling your about Mrs. James, that wasn't something for me to say."

"Fine, we can we cant talk about this engagement ring that Julian bought. I didn't know he was seeing someone new.. or perhaps an old flame."

"So you're jealous that Julian bought a ring?"

"I'm not jealous." Nathan quickly replied.

"Right." Lucas rolled his eyes. "Alright you want to act like a little kid fine." Lucas decided to play this game. "First off, I don't know about any ring. Yes, I know that Haley and Julian had been seeing each other but as far as I know, it has only been as friends."

"Right." Nathan rolled his eyes and mimicked Lucas' earlier actions.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I didn't think it was a big deal, besides I know how cave man you can get which I was clearly right. Second, how do you even know? Did Haley tell you?"

"It doesn't matter how I know but he bought a ring."

"And last time I checked, Haley's not engaged to Julian or anyone else. Is this what you're so pissed about, that Haley's seeing Julian? "

"It's nice to know that Haley's lying to you too."

"Dude, seriously?" Lucas sighed. "I'm just as surprised as you about this whole ring thing. I mean, I wouldn't put it pass Julian, he really loves Haley, but there's a reason why they're not together."

"Oh really, why? Cuz they seem so perfect for each other."

"Cuz of you dumbass." Lucas bit back. "Haley puts on a front but there's definitely feelings still there, I mean you guys are having a kid together."

"And last time I checked Luke, Haley and I aren't together!"

"But you want to be right?" Luke asked. "I thought that's what you wanted, so why are you pushing her away and why the hell are you so mad at me."

"It doesn't matter what I want. She doesn't want me. She already said that plenty of times."

"Nate, I know rejection can be though."

"No Luke, you don't get it!" Nathan turned away and looked out onto the park and watched as a young family, a husband and wife and two young children, a boy and a girl were walking along the water front.

"Then what is it?" Lucas prodded. "Look Nate, whatever happens between you and Haley, it doesn't change anything between us, we're still brothers and I'm here if you need me, despite what an ass you are." Lucas tried to joke.

Nathan snorted and continued to look at the young family.

"You see that." Nathan pointed out.

"When I see Haley, I think of that, at us at the park playing, taking walks, going out to movies, playing basketball here at the River Court.. being a family but .. but that's not going to happen, I know that now."

"Why?" Lucas asked, suddenly wondering where his over the top and cocky brother had gone.

"Have you spoken to Dan?" Nathan suddenly asked.

"Dan?" Lucas squinted his eyes in confusion. "No.. and why are we talking about Dan?"

Maybe, Lucas didn't know, Nathan reasoned. "Did you know he paid for Lydia's treatment?"

Lucas laughed. "You're kidding right?"

Nathan shook his head.

"Wait, there's no way in hell. Haley would never accept .."

"Look at public records." Nathan interrupted. "Her house has a lien on it. Apparently, Haley's family borrowed money against the house to pay for Lydia's treatment but I guess it wasn't enough. Haley got money from Dan and he's apparently the lien holder."

"No.. I mean, I know the treatment is expensive, I just assumed that Haley's siblings all chipped in.." Lucas needed to take a seat. "She went to Dan for help." Lucas couldn't believe this.

"Well at least it's nice to know she hid this from you as well." Nathan replied. At least he wasn't the only one left in the dark.

"I can't believe she would do that.. after everything he's put her through.. put us through!"

"Yeah, one of the guys at the agency did a back ground check on Haley. I got pissed but they were only trying to protect me and so they found out about Dan." Nathan quietly admitted. "She'll never trust me Luke. I understand her not telling me about her dad or her mom but this .. and after all this crap about Dan dying, something doesn't add up here."

"Look, maybe you should talk to Haley."

"For what?" Nathan scoffed. "What'll that do? When I first got back to town, you told me that Haley was a different person, she wasn't the same girl I fell for in high school.. and you're right. I mean even the guys at the agency wanted me to do a paternity test but I have to at least believe she wouldn't lie to me about that."

"She wouldn't." Lucas tried make it sound convincing but even he was having a hard time processing everything.

"She doesn't owe me nothing Luke. She told me herself that if I wanted nothing to do with this baby then that'll be okay with her. I'm not anything to her except the guy who broke her heart and fathered her child. Shit, I'm not even sure if we're even friends. I thought I could make her fall back in love with me.. I guess I have my answer."

"Nate man, just talk to her. No matter what happens, it doesn't change the fact that his baby is coming and you don't want this baggage to be dumped on him."

Nathan opened his mouth but the words failed him. Silence came over them and Lucas followed Nathan's line of sight back to the young family nearby. They looked happy and carefree, enjoying their day in the park and thy both wondered if either of them would ever have that.

. . . . . .

Haley stepped out of her car and made her way to her front porch but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who was waiting for her. Seeing Haley approaching, Nathan stood up and waited for her. She walked cautiously towards him, not knowing what to expect.

"Hey." Haley put on a smile as she climbed the stairs. She wasn't expecting to see him. In fact, Lucas was supposed to talk with Nathan yesterday but she never heard anything back from Luke. He hadn't returned any of her calls and she was wondering what was up with these Scott boys.

"Hey." Nathan replied.

"Did you umm.. want to go inside?" Haley asked.

"No, I'm actually not staying long." Nathan put his hands in his pocket. "Umm.. how are you?"

"I'm good." Haley shuffled nervously. "You?"

"I'm good." Nathan nodded. And then shook his head and let a small laugh. He turned his head away and looked up at the clouds. It looked like it was about to pour at any minute.

"Actually, I'm not good." Nathan admitted. He promised Lucas yesterday that he would talk to Haley. He had to admit, he was scared about the whole thing but Lucas was right, the baby had to come first. If he and Haley weren't meant to be, then he'd rather have it over now than after the baby is born. "I'm sorry if I've been acting weird." Nathan turned back to Haley.

"Ok." Haley replied. "What's wrong?"

"Everything." Nathan admitted. "I'm in love with a girl who doesn't love me back."

"Nathan.." Haley tried to speak but Nathan continued.

"Hales, it's okay. I get it, alright." Nathan took a step back. "Last week I told you that I didn't want you to forget all the crap I've done and that it was the only way to move forward and so that's what I'm doing now."

"Okay." Haley replied, unsure of what to say.

"We have to more forward Haley cuz before you know it, the baby will be here and no matter what happened or will happen with us, I want to make sure the baby is okay."

"I want that too."

"Good." Nathan nodded. "I told you that I'll be here for you and the baby and I want you to know I mean that." Nathan said seriously.

"I know Nathan, I believe you." Haley didn't know where all of this was coming from.

Nathan gave a small smile. "And maybe one day we can even be friends."

Haley tilted her head, "Umm, we are friends."

Nathan gave out a small laugh. "No, Haley we're not. You've never been a friend Haley, you'll always be more.. always been more." Nathan corrected himself and took a deep breath. "Look, I didn't come here to hash old wounds, I wanted to put the past behind us and move forward and maybe so that maybe one day we can be friends."

"Nathan, where is this coming from?"

"I know Haley." Nathan said softly. "About you and Dan, I know."

Haley jaw fell in shock and she suddenly felt like throwing up. "Nat.. Nathan, I can explain."

"Hales, that's the thing you don't need to explain, you don't owe me anything."

"But."

"But what?" Nathan asked back. "You're mom was sick, you obviously needed the money, I get it Hales."

"Nathan, you have to believe me when I say I felt like didn't have another choice." Haley fought the tears that were threatening to escape from her eyes.

"I believe you."

"I wanted to tell you, I did, I just didn't know how."

"I'm not going to lie, I was hurt when I found out. I would've rather have heard it from you instead of one of the guys from the agency but it doesn't matter anymore." Nathan shook his head. "I was living in some fantasy world where we would end up back together. I know now that I hurt you too much for us to be anything more, I mean of all the people of the world you turned to Dan Scott." Nathan's chuckled and shook his head again. "You've been telling me for months that we could never be together again but I wasn't listening, but now I get the message Hales." Nathan started to walk down the stairs of her front patio.

"I love you." Haley blurted out and Nathan turned around and gave her a small smile. He walked back up to her and gave her a small kiss on the cheeks.

"I love you too." Nathan caressed her cheek for a second and then started to walk down stairs again. "Look, I don't like the guy but from what Lucas told me, it seems that this Julian person is a good guy. He loves you Hales, he won't hurt you like I have."

Nathan waved off as he walked into his car. "I'll see you around Hales."

Haley stood there, her eyes brimming with tears as the clouds opened up and it started to pour.

. . . .

"Hello." Lucas picked up his cell phone.

"Finally." Haley huffed out. "Where does he live?"

"Whoa, slow down Hales. Where does who live?"

"Nathan." Haley replied. "What's his address?"

"For what?"

"Cuz I need to see him." Haley quickly replied. "What is it?"

Lucas gave her the address and switched the phone to his other ear. He was currently in New York and was getting ready to have dinner with Brooke but couldn't figure out what shirt to wear for tonight. He wished he packed more clothes so he would have more options.

"Are you okay? I can barely hear you."

"I'm fine. There's like some storm or something. Look, did you talk with Nathan yesterday?"

"I did."

"Did he tell you about Dan?"

"Yes, actually he did." Lucas replied and cleared his throat. "I can't believe you would turn to him for help."

"Luke, I had my reasons, desperation being one of them but I didn't come to him, he came to me."

"Hales.."

"Look Luke, I'm sorry for not telling you but I'll explain everything later. It's pouring out and I can barely see in front of me. I'll see you when you get back."

"Hales, wait.. Hales!" Lucas yelled at the phone but it was too late. She already hung up.

. . . . .

With a little bit of sweet talking, Haley was able to get through the front gates to the private community where Nathan lived. Once Haley mentioned Nathan Scott, the security guard suddenly realized why Haley looked familiar and let her on the premises. Pulling up in the driveway, she quickly made her way to his front door but it was no use, she was already soaked.

Hearing the heavy banging on the door, Nathan got up from the living room and made his way to the front door.

"Haley, what're you doing here?" Nathan stepped aside to let his pregnant.. whatever .. inside. "Aren't the roads all closed? It's like Marshall Law or something."

"I know I know but I have to come talk to you." Haley was dripping all over Nathan's new hard wood floors. When Nathan went to see her earlier, she was completely shocked and even after he left and it started to pour, she just stood there under her front patio. It wasn't until she heard a rumble of thunder that she decided to get up and see Nathan. Call it hormones or five years of pent up feelings but she just had to see Nathan.

"What is it?" Nathan closed the door and then turned to face Haley but he was met with a quick slap in the face.

"What the hell?" Nathan covered his soon to be red cheeks.

"I tell you 'I love you' and you tell me to go back to Julian!" Haley couldn't hold in her feelings any more.

"Did you know that he asked me to marry him.. again!"

"Actually I did." And Haley quickly slapped him again.

"Fuck, Hales will you quit?" Nathan nursed his cheek again.

"Don't worry, I'm heading out." She said angrily and sidestepped Nathan back towards the door. "All this talk about us getting back together again." Haley scoffed. "What was that for huh? To mess with my head, was this all some sick joke to you?"

"No, I meant it."

"Yet, you want me to marry another man? I can't believe you!"

"I can't make you love me Haley." Nathan said in as calm as a voice as he can muster. The last thing he wanted was to get Haley more worked up than she already was.

"I can't make you let me back in." He added. "I can't help that every time you see me, you see that 18 year old boy that ran out on us. Like I told you Hales, I get it. I mean of all the people to turn to for help, you went to Dan .. not even to me or even Lucas." Nathan reminded Haley. "I love you Hales, I want you to be happy and if Julian makes you happy then so be it."

Tears welled up in Haley's eyes and she slapped Nathan once more.

"You don't get it!" She pleaded with him as tears ran down her shivering body. "It's not about Julian, it was never about him but you know what I'm done." She shook her head. "Just when I think we're making progress and reaching some stable ground, you manage to pull the rug right underneath from me." Haley reached for the door.

"What the hell Haley? You're the one that doesn't want us to be together, I tried and it obviously wasn't enough. What more do you want from me?"

"I wanted you to fight for me!" Haley exclaimed. "God Nathan! You hurt me so bad, how can I let you in when I'm always afraid you're going to run out on me.. on us." Haley clutched her stomach. "Do you think that I want to raise this baby on my own? I don't but I can't help but consider the possibility. How can I even consider going to your for help when I don't know if you'll be there? You've been telling me for months how much you love me, how much you want to be with me and I was starting to see pass all the pain you've put me through but I guess I was wrong because the Nathan Scott I knew, the Nathan Scott I fell in love with goes after what he wants, he fights for it and the way you've given up on me so easily, well I guess I know now that I'm not the one you want." Haley paused to let the tears fall from her eyes as she found to remain composed. "It's never been me." Haley said sadly and opened the door and started to run to her car.

Hearing Haley's words cut a knife through him and he stood frozen as Haley ran back into the storm. A moment later, against the wild winds and the torrential rain, something in Nathan finally snapped. He ran after Haley and closed her door before she could even enter it.

"Nathan, what the hell?" Haley protested but Nathan ignored her.

"You're not going anywhere in this weather." He proclaimed and proceeded to drag her back inside.

"Nathan let go of me."

"NO!" He exclaimed, sending chills down Haley's spine. The rain washed over them and Haley's vision was a little blurred but she could see something in Nathan's eyes, a fire that she never saw in him before.

Before Haley could protest anymore, he promptly took her car keys away from her and lifted her up in his arms and proceeded to carry her back inside.

"Nathan put me down!" She complained but Nathan ignored her as he closed the front door behind him with foot and then proceeded to climb up the stairs, not caring at all that they were both dripping wet.

Reaching the oversized, master bedroom, Nathan finally put her down and ordered her to stay.

"I'm not letting you or OUR baby in that storm." He stated as he went to his drawers and pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of old sweat pants. He handed it to Haley and pointed towards the master bath. The tone in his voice left for no arguments that she shouldn't cross him on this.

"There are extra towels in there. Get out of these wet clothes. I'll make you hot chocolate or something."

Haley wanted to ignore him and leave but it was no use, Nathan seemed determined to keep her there and hearing the storm raging outside, Haley had to put her pride aside and just stick it out. Nathan was right, she couldn't risk their baby like that.

When Haley made her way to the bathroom, Nathan finally sighed in relief. He removed his damp shirt and quickly changed into a pair of basketball shorts and a dry shirt. He then made his way downstairs and started to make hot chocolate for Haley.

Haley dried herself off and hung her wet clothes on the towel rack. She finally had some time to calm down a bit after everything that's happened. Changing into Nathan's clothes, she could smell his scent on it. It was then that she took a minute to study the bathroom and his room. This wasn't at all what she expected, she expected more of a bachelor pad, of dark leather couches and big screen tv's. This was a house, a home. A few minutes later, Haley went downstairs to join Nathan in the kitchen.

Nathan tried to smile at the sight of Haley in his clothes. She looked so beautiful, he wanted to kiss her senseless but reality brought him back.

"Here, have a drink." He pushed the drink towards Haley as she took a seat on the counter. Nathan turned to grab himself a bottle of water from the fridge.

Sensing the need for calm, Haley spoke first.

"The house is nice." Haley commented as she took a sip.

"Thanks." Nathan muttered.

"So you bought it?"

Just then a clasp of thunder rocked the house and all the power turned off.

"Wait here." Nathan replied as he scurried to find a flashlight. He left the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with another flashlight and his cell phone on hand.

"The whole neighbor hood is out." He commented. "So is most of the town. There's been a state of emergency declared, you should stay here for the night. It's too dangerous to be out."

Haley nodded in agreement as she got out of the stool and placed her now empty mug in the sink.

"It's late and I'm feeling a little tired, do you mind if I just crash?" Haley replied. She couldn't take another second of the awkwardness.

"Yeah, sure." Nathan led her off to one of the guestroom on the main floor. The room was sparsely decorated, with only an empty dresser and a full sized bed.

"You can take the spare room." Nathan led her inside.

"This is fine." Haley commented.

"The downstairs bath is just around the corner." Nathan stated and was about to walk away but stood at the door and turned back to her. He couldn't leave things like that. He needed to tell her how he felt. He couldn't let her think he didn't care for her, he always had even when it seemed he didn't.

"Haley?"

"Yeah."

"Look." Nathan took a deep breath. "I don't want you to be with Julian or any guy for that matter. In fact the thought alone makes me sick but you deserve better than me Hales I've been trying so hard but all I keep doing is messing up. Just when I think we are getting somewhere, something always happens and no matter what, I always end up fucking things up. I know that I hurt you Hales and I don't mean to do it but I hurt too." Nathan said softly.

"Every time, I see you and can't hold you or kiss, it kills me. When I have to tell everyone, you're just a friend, that hurts and every time you look at me and all I see is the pain I caused you, it hurts Hales. It all hurts Hales." Nathan clutched his fist over his heart. "But it's my cross to bear Haley, not yours. When I mentioned Julian, it wasn't that I didn't want to be with you it was that I can't bear to see you hurting and upset, it's cuz I want you to be happy even if it's not with me." Nathan stated and the two stood there for what felt like an eternity.

"Good night Haley." Nathan walked away and quicky headed back to his room upstairs.

He suddenly grew hot and felt like he was suffocating. Tearing his shirt off, he dropped on the bed and stared up on the ceiling. How was he going to sleep knowing Haley was under his roof?

. . . .

Haley tried in vain for the past hour to sleep but it useless. Thoughts of Nathan consumed her to the point where she finally got up and started to walk around. In all this, she forgot about his feelings and how he felt about everything. He may have been the one to break them but that still didn't mean he hadn't suffered like she had. The thought of him hurting over their break up was something Haley would've relished before but now. Now the knowledge just left her numb.

Curiosity got the best of her and she started to explore the house. Outside her room was another room, the formal living room or a study perhaps. It was still empty and Haley thought it would make for a good music room. She walked by the stairs and through the also empty formal dining room and back into the kitchen and family room. She liked the open lay out and liked how the windows and back door opened towards the back, where Haley looked out across the rain swept terrain to a swimming pool. There was a comfortable sofa that looked onto a fireplace and a flat screen tv hanging above it. She was in the kitchen earlier but now she took a good look at it and like the breakfast bar and how it was open to the family room. It had a generous amount of cabinet space and the island was a decent size to bake and cook. Climbing up another set of stairs off the kitchen, Haley found another guest room with only an empty bed inside and past another bathroom and came to a stop in front of the master bedroom.

It was that she noticed another door right across it. She opened the door to the other room and she nearly gasped as she took in her surroundings. The walls were painted a light lime green, there was a closet with mirrored doors in front of her. The wall behind her, where the door was attached to had a blue plaid wallpaper but what caught her eye the most was the crib set up in the corner. There was a rocking chair to the side and a changing station and a dresser. On the dresser was a photo of the baby's first sonogram and a couple of pictures of the two of them from high school, some with Lucas and their other friends. Looking down into the crib, it was still missing linens but she couldn't help but smile as she saw a small stuffed bear inside. It was wearing a Tree Hills Raven basketball jersey and in it's hand, a small orange basketball.

"It was the first room I decorated."

Haley was startled to find Nathan by the door way.

"There's still a couple of things missing but I thought.. hoped we can do that together." Nathan said softly as he stepped closer. Haley stayed rooted to her spot.

"You asked me earlier if I bought this house and I did." Nathan paused. "I bought it because as soon as I stepped inside, I saw you, me and our son in here, I saw a life here Hales, I saw our family." He gave her a sad smile.

Haley's lips were trembling as a single tear came down her face.

Nathan stepped closer and wiped it away with his fingers and caressed her cheeks. "Do you know how many times i tried to let you go?" Nathan chuckled. "But I can't, I love you too much and if I have to wait a lifetime for you to trust me again Hales, then I'll wait because there's nobody else for me Hales. I can go out and date and find someone new but it would never be enough. I'd always be searching for more. It's you Haley. It's always been you." Nathan stroked her cheek once more before exiting the room and going back to his.

Nathan sat on his bed and took a deep breath before lying back down and staring into the ceiling. His heart was racing, one more minute with Haley and he didn't know if he could contain himself from kissing her and risk getting smacked.. again. He needed to get out of there. He needed her to figure out what she wants.

. . . .

Haley stood there in the middle of the room trying to take everything in. This was her son's room, the room where her baby boy would be rocked to sleep and play and goof off. Under this roof, this was where she can have the life she's always wanted. Not being able to hold back herself any longer, her feet took her to Nathan's room and she stood at the door way as he lied there, his eyes wide open, staring up.

"Nathan." She called out and he sat up at her voice.

Racing over to him, he quickly pulled her into his arms and she sobbed against his chest. The fear of opening her heart up was ever present but she couldn't live in fear anymore. Her life flashed before her eyes, one in which her and Nathan would raise their child in separate households or one in which they were together.. a family. She had to take the chance, to realize that people make mistakes and aren't perfect, herself included.

"I want it too." Haley muttered against his chest and then pulled back to look him in the eyes, those deep blue eyes that she lost herself as a teenager and now years later, it was the same feeling.

"Everything you want I want it too. The house, the kids, I want it all Nathan and I want it with you. I've always wanted it with you." She stroked his dark hair.

"Are you sure?" Nathan had to ask, afraid that his was a dream.

Haley nodded. "I'm not going to lie Nathan, I'm scared, so scared that you'll leave me again."

"I won't." He vowed. "I love you Haley and our son." He proclaimed. "I can't promise, we won't fight again or I that I'll never hurt you again because knowing my luck, I'll probably screw up sooner than later." He tried to joke and Haley sniffled as she let out a small laugh.

"But I promise Hales to always love you." He swore in a more serious tone and pressed his forehead against her's as her eyes spilled with tears.

Moving slowly, his lips captured her's. The kiss started off slow but quickly deepened and it wasn't until air became an issue that their lips finally parted.

Pulling away, Nathan wiped away her tears and they kissed each other again and when they pulled back, both were smiling from ear to ear. Haley wrapped her arms around Nathan and nuzzled her face against his bare chest, loving the feel of him enveloping her. Pulling the sheets over them, Nathan held her close to him.

Haley sat up to look at Nathan. "Promise me you won't leave me." Haley pouted.

"Never." He swore again and kissed her on her lips.

"And promise me, we'll take things slow. Five years is a long time Nathan and I want us to take our time, to get to know each other again."

"I promise Hales." Nathan pulled her back to him. "We're going to do it right this time."

Haley buried her face against his chest again and nodded her head. "This feels right." Haley muttered.

"Because it is." Nathan smiled and placed a kiss on top of her head. Nathan felt her body relax against his and Haley's eyes were suddenly very heavy, the events of the day were taking it's toll on her.

"Go to sleep, baby." Nathan soothed her back.

Haley let out a content sigh as she hugged Nathan tighter and started to drift off into a blissful sleep. This was it, Nathan thought. Although it still hurt to know that Haley still had doubts about them, he wouldn't be deterred. This is what he came back for, his life, his family. He would prove to her that she didn't need to worry about him any more. He would gain her full trust and confidence again. Haley's breathing had gone steady and holding her tightly, he knew he was never go to let go. Not this time. Not ever.

To Be Continued . . . .

P.S. Happy Birthday James Lafferty !


	17. You Are a Runner & I Am My Father's Son

The Search for Something More

Chapter 17 - You Are a Runner, and I Am My Father's Son

Blame a business trip for my delay in updating but I'm so thankful for all the reviews and please keep them coming. Again you guys keep me motivated. I'm glad you guys were happy to see Naley come together last chapter. It was a moment that I've been building up to and I was finally glad to see it come together and full circle. But if you think the story is over, far from it. There's still a lot left for Naley as you'll see. I tried my best to proofread so I apologize for any mistakes. Again, thanks for reading and please review !

. . . . .

Fluttering her eyes, Haley could feel the sun on her face and a warm hard body pressed up against her.

"Hey." Nathan said softy.

Haley blinked her eyes a few more times, still getting her bearings and wondering if this was a dream. Then everything from last night came rushing back to her. Nathan gently started to stroke her cheek sending tingles down her spine and Haley knew that this was indeed no dream.

"Morning." She replied back with a warm smile.

"Morning." Nathan smiled back and leaned forward and the two shared a tender kiss.

"Is this real?" Haley asked as she propped up her elbows on Nathan's chest and started to stroke his hair.

"It better be." Nathan smirked and leaned forward to kiss her again.

Haley rested her head back against Nathan's chest and hugged him tightly.

Rubbing his hand against her arm, he asked, "How'd you sleep?"

"Best night sleep in a while, what time is it?"

"Almost 10." Nathan looked over at his alarm clock on the nightstand.

"I don't want to get up." Haley muttered.

"I'm perfectly fine like this." Nathan smiled and sighed contently. He was a little tired but that was okay. He'd fought sleep last night, just holding and looking at Haley while she slept. He had to admit, he was afraid that when he woke up, she would be gone. He was pleasantly surprised to find out that wasn't the case. He'd been waiting for this for so long, he could hardly believe it was here.

"You're like a big teddy bear." Haley hugged Nathan tighter. "But with muscles." She added with a grin on her face and he chuckled and smirked back at her.

"Well I'm always around if you want to cuddle me." Nathan added and Haley laughed.

"Ohh awww." Haley groaned and clutched onto her belly.

"What is it?" Nathan asked concerned.

Haley sighed as she clumsily got up. "I have to pee."

Nathan laughed as she scurried to the bathroom. Pulling the sheets off of him, he decided that maybe it was time to get up. Haley hadn't eaten at all and he was getting hungry himself.

"I'll get started on breakfast." Nathan called out as he made his way downstairs.

After freshening up a little bit, Haley made her way downstairs and stood off to the side line and watched Nathan prepare breakfast. She had to admit that she could get use to the site of seeing Nathan cooking for her.. and he being half naked was an added bonus. She couldn't hide the smile on her face, she was really happy that she and Nathan were together again. It was as if this big cloud had been lifted over her.

"What can I do?" Haley asked as she made her way into the kitchen.

Nathan smiled and promptly lifted her up and sat her on the counter.

"Nathan, what're you doing?"

"You." Nathan leaned forward and gave her a peck on the cheek. "will be doing nothing."

"But Nathan, I want to help. Put me down." Haley moved her feet up and down. If she currently wasn't with child, she would've easily jumped off the counter top but she couldn't do that now.

"No can do." Nathan shook his head and smirked. "I said I was making breakfast and that's what I'm going to do." He said resolutely.

"Fine." Haley pouted and crossed her arms. The truth was that she was thrilled and touched Nathan was doing this for her.

"So I didn't know you can cook." She mused.

"I can't." He joked.

"Should I be worried?"

"But." Nathan quickly added. Breakfast seems to be the only thing I'm not able to screw up."

"Good to know, so what're we having?"

"Well, I have some fruit and I'm going to scramble some eggs and make pancakes."

"Oh pancakes." Haley clapped her hands. "Do you have chocolate chips?"

Before she can even finish her question, Nathan lifted a bag of chocolate chips to blend in with the batter.

"Well, aren't you Mr. Prepared."

"Like I said, breakfast is about the only thing I can cook." He joked.

"Still, not once have I ever seen you in front of the stove."

"Well, living on my own, I had to force myself sometimes. I remember I used to help my mom on Saturday morning breakfasts so I sort of stuck to that. Well, I can do pasta, spaghetti is probably the most complicated dish I know."

Haley laughed. "But spaghetti is the easiest thing to make."

"Says you." Nathan scoffed as he continued to make breakfast.

"Well maybe next time I cook dinner and you can learn a thing or two from me."

Nathan grinned. "Always tutor girl, huh?"

Haley laughed and then shrugged. "It's in my nature."

"I'd love to." He stopped moving and went back to Haley to giver her another peck on the cheek.

"How about tonight?" He asked. "You can cook dinner.. or we can go out, what do you say?" Nathan asked.

"Nathan Scott, are you asking me out on a date?" Haley feigned shock.

"Why yes, Haley James I am." Nathan smirked.

Haley blushed. "Then it's a date." Haley leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Does this seem surreal to you?" Haley asked a moment later.

"I had to pinch myself twice this morning to make sure I wasn't dreaming." Nathan replied. "But this feels right Haley."

"It does." Haley agreed. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For agreeing to take things slow."

"Haley, you're right, it has been five years, I want for us to know each other again with out all this baggage." Nathan continued to cook. "So tonight, I'm just Nathan and you are Haley."

Haley smiled and nodded. "Sounds good to me, now put me down, I'm starving."

. . . . .

Lucas surveyed the neighborhood and took notice of a couple of down branches and trash strewn around. He was worried something had happened to Nathan and Haley, especially after the last time he spoke to either of them. Yesterday's storm wrecked havoc in the area but luckily he was able to catch one of the few flights to make it in this morning. He wasn't planning on leaving New York so soon but after talking to Brooke, she convinced him he should come back early, plus it helped that she flew down here with him. He took a look at the driveway and noticed Nathan and Haley's cars were still there. He'd been calling both of them all morning long but it just went straight to voicemail. Reaching the front door to Nathan's house, he was about to ring the doorbell but decided it'd be more fun to just use the spare key Nathan gave him.

Opening the door, he made his way inside slowly. He heard laughter in the background and he moved further and he took notice of the lack of furniture and a wonderful scent from the back.

"I thought I smelled pancakes." Lucas smirked as he leaned against a wall with his arms crossed.

Haley and Nathan whipped their heads and Nathan tilted his head over to Lucas. "Shouldn't you be in New York?"

"Took an early flight back." Lucas walked in the kitchen. "Some people here." Lucas gave both of them a pointed look, "don't like to pick up their phones."

"Yeah, well, we were busy." Nathan had a goofy grin on his face and then reached his hand out and grabbed Haley's hand in his.

"Is there something you guys want to tell me?" Lucas squinted and shared the same goofy smile as his brother.

"Nathan and I decided to give it a shot." Haley added.

"As in you're back together again?"

"Yes."

"Not exactly."

Both Haley and Nathan spoke at the same time. Nathan gave Haley a curious look. She gave him a reassuring smile and squeezed his hand before turning back to a confused Lucas.

"What I mean is we're going to give it a shot.. we actually have a date tonight." Haley replied.

"So you're dating?" Lucas asked.

"Well." Haley started to speak but Nathan interrupted her.

"Yes, that's exactly what it means." Nathan turned to Haley and squeezed her hand back. Haley smiled back and blushed.

"Well well, what an interesting turn of events. The last time I saw you, you were all emo and broody."

"Shut up Pucas." Nathan gave Lucas a dirty look. "Second, brooding is your thing."

"Whatever man and way to offer breakfast, you know I like pancakes and to think I came over here to check up on you."

Nathan rubbed his temples, feeling another Lucas induced headache. "Grab a plate you bum and join us." Nathan said annoyed.

Haley giggled to herself, amused at the banter between the two brothers. She liked this, fun and light. Well, she spoke to soon.

"So I'm glad you guys were able to talk things out." Lucas sat down and grabbed two fluffy pancakes. "Sweet, chocolate chip." He took a bite.

Nathan watched in morbid fascination as he saw his brother scarf down a whole pancake. "Umm.. yeah we did."

"See I told you there was an explanation for this whole Dan thing." Lucas chewed his food. "I'm sure it was all a big mix up."

"Actually Luke, it wasn't." Haley cleared her throat. "Dan is on the medical board and he found out about my mom and he came to me offering help."

Nathan and Lucas looked at each other then back to Haley. "Hales, I don't like the idea of you accepting anything from that guy, he must want something in return." Nathan replied.

"I thought you two talked about this?" Lucas spoke up.

"We were too busy making out." Nathan replied quickly.

"He did want something." Haley said carefully.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"Promise me you won't get mad."

"Which usually means, I will." Nathan replied.

"Nathan, promise."

"Okay, I promise. What did Dan want?"

"…."

"Haley." Nathan said in a more serious voice. He knew this morning was going too well.

"Look, before I continue, I just want to remind you that Dan was always lurking around the hospital. I thought it was cuz he was on the board but it makes sense now because his cardiologist is also in the same hospital."

"Okay, Hales, what is it?" Lucas asked.

"Anyway, when he came to me, it was a rough time. Luke you remember, my mom's condition was worsening and I found out I was pregnant. Dan came to me because he found out about my mom … and the pregnancy."

"What?" Both brother's asked.

"Haley, did Dan know this whole time? Before me?" Nathan asked and Haley nodded.

"Fuck." Nathan slammed his fist on the table, shaking all the plates.

"Nathan, you promised you wouldn't get mad."

"I'm not mad." Nathan bit his tongue. "I just feel like an idiot because this whole time, I was trying to keep this pregnancy away from Dan but he knew the whole goddamn time!"

"Nathan, please, I told you I didn't mean to hide it from you."

"No, Hales, you told me about your mom. I can understand you accepting help for your mom but Dan knew about this baby before me!"

"It's not like I told him, he figured it out. He saw me going to my doctor and he came to me because he thought the baby was Lucas'?"

Nathan quickly turned to his brother.

Lucas held his hand up in self defense. "Whoa, don't look at me. Remember, I found out about the baby when you did."

"Obviously, I told Dan it wasn't Lucas." Haley interrupted. "But he guessed you, Nathan, and I tried to deny it but he saw right through me."

"What did he want Haley?" Nathan clenched his fist and started to pace the room.

"He asked me for two things, the other one I don't know what."

"What was the first?" Lucas asked.

"The only thing he asked of me was to tell Nathan about the baby."

"And so that's when you went to San Francisco to tell me." Nathan threw his hands up. He was about to say something but words failed him, he felt like ripping the walls off and so he stormed upstairs to his room.

"Nathan, wait!" Haley tried to explain but it was no use, he just stormed off.

Haley sniffled as she turned to Lucas. "Luke, I wasn't trying to keep the baby from Nathan. I was going to tell him."

"Hales, you shouldn't be telling me this. You need to talk to Nathan." Lucas said sternly.

"Luke, I'm sorry I didn't tell you.. about any of it. I didn't want you to find out I accepted help from Dan."

"I can understand you getting help for your mom but Dan knew this whole time. I'm sorry Hales but that's something you should've told me, or at the very least, Nathan. Do you know how worried he was about Dan getting involved in this baby's life.. how both of us we were worried and the bastard knew this whole time."

"Luke, I'm sorry, I don't know what else to say."

"It's no me you should be saying sorry to."

Haley nodded quietly and got up and went after Nathan. Haley quickly made her way up the stairs and towards Nathan's room. The door was ajar and she saw Nathan putting on a t-shirt.

Haley knocked on the door. "Nathan, can I come in?"

"Why did Dan ask you to?" He scoffed.

"Nathan, please. Let me explain."

"What's there to explain? I mean my agents think I should do a paternity test, I told them they were wrong, of course the baby is mine.. what I didn't tell them was how you didn't want to tell me!"

"Nathan, I was going to tell you!" Haley exclaimed. "God, I told you how scared and confused I was when I found out. I could barely handle the news on my own, let alone tell you or anyone else about. Dan found out and he came to me. Please Nathan, you have to believe me."

"What I don't believe is why you never said anything sooner."

Haley walked over to him and took his hand and put it against her heart. "Believe that I never wanted to hurt you, I knew how you or Lucas would react if you guys found out and if I told you that Dan knew then I would've had to tell you about everything. My own mom doesn't even know Dan helped her." Haley let out a sigh.

"Haley, I know why you did it, I just don't understand why you kept this from me." Nathan took a step back.

"When I went to see you in San Francisco, I didn't know what to expect? The last time I saw you, you treated me like a one night stand. If I told you about Dan, then you would've found out about my mom and I wasn't ready to tell you all that back then. I didn't know how you would react and then you showed up to Tree Hill and then you and Lucas started bonding again. I knew that bringing up Dan would only make things worst."

"…." Nathan looked down and stared blankly at the floor.

"You can be mad at me all you want but I don't regret it because my mom is alive today and whether both of us like it or not, Dan had a big help in that. For that I will always be grateful."

"He knew this whole time." Nathan muttered and shook his head. He reached over to a nearby chair and grabbed his jeans and started to put it on.

"Nathan.."

"I have things to do today." Nathan quickly muttered and he had to stop himself and take a deep breath. "Look, I'll see you tonight. Okay."

"Okay." Haley nodded and looked like she was going to cry at any minute.

"Look Hales, I can't help if I'm mad at you .. at Dan.. and shit at myself right now but I love you Haley." He stepped closer to her. "I love you okay but I just need some time to take this all in. You were right. We should take things slow. I guess we both need to get to know each other again." Nathan said sadly and left the room.

. . . . .

"Sir.. sir.. you can't go in there. Sir!" The secretary stood up and chased after Nathan.

Nathan stormed through the office door with the secretary hot on his tails.

"I'm so sorry Mayor Scott, I tried to stop him."

Dan nodded to the other gentlemen in the room, letting them know he wanted some privacy.

"That's okay. I can spare a few minutes for my son." Dan stood up and walked around the desk and leaned up against it.

Nathan stepped aside to let everyone leave the room and then the door was shut, leaving only father and son.

"First time you visit and it's after a major storm, your timing is impeccable son."

"Cut the crap dad. I'm here to tell you that I know."

Dan looked at Nathan curiously before replying. "I guess Miss James finally told you."

"You stay away from her and my son!"

"Nathan, I was only trying to help and last time I checked, Mrs. James went into remission."

"This isn't about Haley's mom and we both know it. Only you can be so low as to use a Lydia's sickness to make you look like a saint. You know about this baby the whole time!"

"I was only doing Haley's wishes. She didn't want you to find out."

"I don't care Dad but stay away from her and stay away from me!"

"Look Nathan, you're right, if it was anybody else, I wouldn't have helped Haley. I found out about Haley's mom and then I found out about Haley's pregnancy, I thought it was Lucas' and I wanted my grandchild to know his grandmother. But hold and behold, it turned out the child was my grandkid but just the wrong son. Is that what you want to hear?"

"Don't you get it Dad, I don't want anything from you. You did one decent thing and now you expect to be rewarded, it just doesn't work that way."

"I know I screwed up with you son.. you and Lucas but I'm trying to do the right thing here."

"For who? For you or for us?"

"I'm dying son and I lived a life full of regrets, you and Lucas being on top the list and if I die, I want to at least know that I tried. I want to know you two, I want to see my grandson."

"That will never happen!" Nathan shook his head.

"Fine Nathan, be angry at me, but don't misplace your anger towards Haley on me. She's the one that didn't want me to tell you and quite frankly, I thought it would be best if she told you herself. I only wanted what was best for you Nathan and I thought Haley wasn't the girl for you, I guess I was right."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"It took her this long to tell you." Dan pointed out. "I want you to be happy Nathan, really happy and I know you love Haley, but maybe she doesn't love you back, at least not in the way you want."

Nathan paused for a second before shaking his head. "Don't try to twist things around. You were always against my relationship with Haley and five years later, nothing's changed." Nathan shook his head. "I'm serious Dad, stay away from us and if you know what's good for you, you stay away from Lucas too." And with that he left, not wanting to hear another thing from Dan's mouth.

. . . . . .

"Honey, I'm home!" Brooke sing-songed as she went through the back door if Haley's house and into the kitchen.

"Thank you God!" Haley took off her apron and greeted her friend. She was so glad Brooke was in town, she definitely needed the her' help.

"Something smells good." Brooke commented.

"It better be." Peyton added, "We've been slaving over the stove all day."

Peyton rushed to Tree Hill after hearing from Haley how she needed help. She thought something bad happened and Peyton was an inch away from yelling at a pregnant lady. She drove all this way just to help Haley cook dinner, a dinner, she wasn't even going to eat.

"You are a life saver Brooke. I don't have anything to wear tonight."

"I come prepared." Brooke held up the various garment bags in her hands. "Where do you want these?"

"You can put it in my room." Haley replied. After dropping off the clothes, Brooke made her way back down to the kitchen.

"So this must be bad." Brooke stated as she want back to the kitchen and plopped herself on the counter and looked over last month's issue of Vogue that was on the counter.

"You should've seen his face." Haley sighed. "He looked so hurt."

"Don't forget, he was the one that broke your heart Hales." Peyton added.

"Yeah." Brooke agreed. "He should be lucky you're giving him another shot, which for the life of me I don't understand." Brooke quickly added the last part in.

"Look guys, there was a time when I would've liked nothing more than to hurt Nathan like how he did to me but I've forgiven Nathan. We were both really young and that's no excuse but he's apologized and he's already shown how committed he is to this baby. I just hate how this whole Dan blew up in my face."

"Haley, you made a deal with the devil, what did you expect?" Peyton asked.

"Not this." Haley sat down, needing to take a break. "I've tried so many times to tell him but I just couldn't."

"Look Haley, Nathan knows that and give it some time and I'm sure that it'll finally get through that thick head of his." Brooke added.

"I just need tonight to be perfect."

"Well, I don't know if a badly prepared dinner will help." Brooke stuck her tongue out at Peyton and Peyton flipped her off. Haley smiled at her friend's antics; it was a much needed distraction. "But I do know that after I'm done with you, Nathan won't know what hit him." Brooke quickly hopped off her stool and headed for the door. "Which reminds me, I forgot the shoes, I'll be back bitches."

"You sure it was a good idea asking Brooke to help you get ready? You know she's going to take at least two hours to get you ready." Peyton turned to Haley.

"I know, which is why I called you over to help finish making dinner." Haley gave Peyton her sweetest smile she could muster despite the fact that she was nervous as hell and had a bad feeling in her gut.

. . . . . . .

"And then I left." Nathan finished telling Lucas his encounter with Dan.

"Just like that?" Lucas sat at the foot of Nathan's bed while Nathan was going through his closet.

"Yep.. I swear, I don't know where the hell I put this shirt." Nathan muttered as he took another shirt from the hanger and placed it on the bed next to Lucas.

"I'm with you Nate, Dan is up to something."

"He's using Haley, I know it."

"You think she's hiding more stuff from you."

"Honestly, I don't even know." Nathan shook his head. "She should've said something about Dan knowing about the baby."

"You think that the only reason she told you was that Dan made her?"

"…" Nathan stayed quiet. "What do you think?"

"Honestly, I don't even know." Lucas mimicked his brother's words. "By the way, how many shirts do you plan on wearing tonight?"

"Shut up and tell me which shirt looks better." Nathan held up a light blue button down shirt and a black one.

"The blue one." Lucas replied.

Nathan eyed the blue shirt and then put it back in the closet. "Black it is."

"Ass." Lucas grabbed one of the shirts off the bed and threw it at him.

"Stop making a mess and what do you mean, 'you don't know'?" Nathan asked.

"Do I think Dan made her tell you, no. Do I think he was a contributing factor, yes."

"Geez, that helps."

"What I'm trying to say is hat I've been trying to tell you ever since you came back home. Haley's different. I'm not trying to bring up old wounds but when you left it nearly broke her. And just when she was getting her life back together, her father dies and then her mom got sick. She's been through a lot Nathan and as much as I'm her best friend, she keeps things to herself. She doesn't let people in sometimes. I'm not happy about this whole Dan thing either but I know that at the time she was going through a lot. She still is."

"I know."

"But I also know that she's been a lot happier lately and I know part of it has to do with her mom getting better but it also has to do with the fact that she's excited to be a mom and you." Lucas pointed out.

Nathan nodded and took a deep breath but Dan's words kept ringing through his ears. _"It took her this long to tell you." Dan pointed out. "I want you to be happy Nathan, really happy and I know you love Haley, but maybe she doesn't love you back, at least not in the way you want."_

"I hope you're right." Nathan replied.

. . . . .

KNOCK KNOCK

"Come in." Dan called out.

"The power company is reporting that only less a thousand residents are still out of power. Crews will be working over night. The fire department finally stopped the water main leak on Pine Street." Renee stepped inside the office and handed Dan some paper work he needed to go over.

"Thanks." Dan took the papers.

"I don't mean to pry but one of the other secretaries told me that they saw Nathan come in here earlier."

"He was here." Dan replied.

"What did he want?"

"Nothing I didn't expect." Dan smiled. "He told me to stay away from him."

"That bad huh?"

"He also told me to stay away from Haley and Lucas."

"Ouch. Is there anything I can do?" Renee asked.

"Actually." Dan turned to his computer and opened the internet. Then he scribbled notes on a piece of paper and then handed it to Renee.

"Tell them I'm coming and I'm taking my sons with me."

"Okay." Renee wanted to ask how, since Nathan made it clear that he and his brother wanted nothing to do with Dan.

"And get me Haley James number while you're at it." Dan leaned back in his chair. "It's time to cash in on a favor." He smirked.

To Be Continued . . . .


	18. Crash Course in Polite Conversations

The Search for Something More

Chapter 18 – Crash Course in Polite Conversations

Thank you all for the reviews, the bad news is that it took me this long to update. The good news is that my niece was born last week! The birth was not without its share of drama so it gives me something to put into this story when it's time for little baby naley to make his appearance in the world. As you can see, Naley still got a lot of things to go through but I hope you will enjoy this chapter. It's practically all Naley. I'm also working on trying to get the next few chapters up and running and hopefully you won't have to wait long for the next update. Like I said, you're feedback is my driving force for this story so thank you for reading.

Another note that the season 7 dvd of OTH is out and while I'm thrilled that Gavin DeGraw is back, I hate the skinnier packaging and why is Brooke on disc 1 and not Nathan. I also wish they had more commentary and more bonus footage. Also if Joy is pregnant, congrats to her. I'm just a little sad that this could very well be it for OTH and my beloved Naley. The season hasn't even started and I feel as though it's already ending. My hope is that the show at least goes to 22 episodes this season. 13 for me seems to short, why half ass it. Also, I can't let OTH go with out a reunion of the Scott Brothers.

. . . . .

_Haley fiddled with her fingers and looked around. Checking her watch, she saw that she still had time before Nathan would be here. She couldn't believe how early it was and she had to wonder why on earth did she tell Nathan that she would tutor him at the ungodly hour of 7:00 am. At first she set the time to test him but she was surprised that he'd actually make it. Sure, he was late the first day but ever since she scolded him he came on time. Although she was an early riser, she would much prefer to have a little bit more sleep. But that was useless now as her mind and body were now attuned to wake up this early and she had a nagging feeling it had nothing to do with tutoring but all about the tutee._

_Truth be told, she was beginning to enjoy her little tutor sessions with Nathan. And if she was completely honest with herself, she knew it was more but right now denial would be her ally. There was no way, he was Lucas' brother.. enemy, whatever. They came from two different worlds, there was no way anything can happen between them. But man, a girl can dream. _

_She sighed to herself and put her head down in an attempt to calm herself down. What has this boy done to her? Sure he was cocky and arrogant but she quickly learned that it was a defense mechanism for him and now his cockiness and arrogance turned into playful banter between the two of them. Then there's the look that he gives her, the look that makes her feel that she's the only one he sees. Technically, since no one is at the docks, it is true but once again a girl can dream. There's the look of concentration when he's working on a problem or the way he looks frustrated when he can't get it right. Then there's the look of pure joy when he'd done something right. He's handsome, she would give him that but damn he's gorgeous and it had been getting harder and harder to close her eyes and not think of that blue eyed raven haired boy. _

"_I already worn you out huh?"_

_Haley lifted her head from the table and sees the sun shining on Nathan's perfectly chiseled face and a matching smirk. Wouldn't she liked to wipe that smirk off his face with her lips on his._

"_Haley?" Nathan asks a moment later._

_Crap, Haley thought to herself, she'd been ogling over him for the past minute._

"_Oh hey Nathan." She tries to play off coolly._

"_You alright?" Nathan asks as he takes his usual seat across from her._

"_I'm fine.. just didn't get enough sleep." She busies herself by grabbing her books instead of looking into his eyes._

"_Well good thing I got you this." Nathan smiles warmly and slides a cup of coffee towards Haley._

_Haley smiles as she takes the warm cup in her hand and takes a sip and notices that he put two creams and three sugars, just the way she likes it into her cup. Next he slides over a small brown bag towards her and Haley sees a blueberry muffin. Not her first choice but it'll do. Before she can even react, Nathan quickly takes the muffin back and Haley looks at him dumfounded._

"_This is your's." Nathan comments and he slides another bag her way while he takes a bite out of HIS blueberry muffin. Haley peeks inside and sees banana nut, her favorite. She mentioned that this was her favorite not too long ago and her stomach is full of butterflies at the warm gesture. It's the small gestures that Haley's been noticing, the cups of coffee, the snacks, carrying of her bag and the rides to school. Haley knows she's falling for Nathan Scott and she's quite sure he's going to be the death of her. But man what a way to go._

. . . . . .

"Coming!"

Haley calls out as she smoothes the front of her dress. She spent two hours with Brooke earlier tying on the perfect outfit. She didn't want to look frumpy but not too formal. She settled for a spaghetti strapped, dark blue cocktail dress that flowed loosely over her stomach, showing off her bump, and ending just below the knees. It looked a little too formal so Haley dressed it down with a pair of flats and minimal make up, only wearing lip gloss. She combed her bangs to the side and wrapped the rest of her hair up in a bun.

"Hey." Nathan smiled as the door open.

"Hey." Haley smiled back and stepped aside to let him in. "You're just in time." Haley took in his appearance, a pair of dark jeans that hugs his but perfectly and a black button down shirt with the top two buttons unbuttoned and the sleeves rolled up. He looked every bit the itch of the casual cool Nathan Scott she knew so well.

"I got you these." Nathan pulled a doze white lilies that he was covering behind him.

Haley took them and smelled them. "Aww, Nathan they're gorgeous." She then tip toed up and kissed him on the cheeks. "Thank you." She smiled. Maybe tonight wouldn't be so bad after all.

Haley spoke to soon.

The comfortable start of the evening had quickly dissipated into awkward silence. Haley glanced over at Nathan and he seemed intent on studying his meal than looking at her. Nathan saw Haley looking at him from the corner of his eye but he dared not look her way. After his talk with Lucas, he told himself that he had nothing to worry about, that he finally got what he wanted. He and Haley were finally together again and that he shouldn't let Dan come in the way of his happiness. So he showered, got dressed and bought Haley's favorite flowers but it was still there. The fear and hesitation that maybe it wouldn't work out for them. The fear that Dan had corrupted her like how Dan did to him.

"This is good." Nathan replied as he took a bite of the meat loaf he was having. He was trying his best to just be in the moment.

"Thank you." Haley replied. And then she proceeded to talk about how she made it and how Peyton came over. All the while Nathan tried to listen buthis mind was always drifting back to Dan.

"Maybe next time you can come over earlier and help me make dinner."

"Uh hu." Nathan replied blankly as he stared down at his pees and played with them with his fork.

Haley sighed and grew frustrated with the whole situation. "Maybe I'll even cook naked." She threw out.

"Yeah." Nathan replied and then a moment later he raised his head, "Wait, what?"

"You know what, I'm suddenly not hungry." Haley choked out and promptly stood up and exited the dining room.

Nathan sighed to himself and slammed his napkin against the table.

. . . .

Nathan opened the front door and found Haley sitting at the patio. Her eyes were watery and he knew that she was fighting with all her might to keep from crying. He felt like shit. He felt like he was back in square one again. He moved over to take a seat next to her but she just looked away from him.

"I never told you how beautiful you look tonight." He replied.

"…"

Ouch, Nathan thought to himself. He always hated getting the silent treatment from Haley.

"And I do hope that next time we can cook together.. and I don't mind doing it naked." He teased and this time Haley couldn't help but snort but she tried to push it out.

"Look Hales, I'm sorry. I tried to put everything that happened this morning out of my mind but I can't." Nathan reached out and grabbed her hand and was glad that she didn't pull away.

"Nathan, I'm sorry for not telling you about Dan but.. I don't.. I don't know what to do. I don't know what you want from me."

"I don't want anything but you." He replied truthfully and squeezed her hand.

"Then why do I feel like there's this wall between us.. just when I thought we were making headway."

Nathan looked down and sighed. He took a second to gather his thoughts and looked back up and found Haley staring at him.

"I know my dad, he's up to something I know it."

"Is that what you think? That Dan's using me against you somehow."

Nathan sighed. "I don't know exactly what my dad's up to but he always has an endgame and he wouldn't have offered you help if he didn't expect a return."

"I know he wants something Nathan. I don't know what that is and I don't care. He can only hurt us if you we let him."

Nathan nodded. "I know that but .. I don't know." Nathan scratched his head and he felt like a jerk for even asking this but he just had to get it off his chest. "When you talked about giving my Dad another chance .. was that you talking or was that Dan?"

Haley placed both her hands around Nathan's and she lifted it up and kissed the top of his hand.

"You, Nathan Scott are an idiot." She smiled at him. "Of course that was me. Despite who Dan is, he's still your father and after losing my father, I know what regret feels like and I don't want you to go through what I did."

Nathan snorted and returned the kiss, bringing her hand to his lips. "I guess." He sighed.

"What's wrong Nathan?"

"Remember when you said you were scared. I guess I am too. I'm scared of what Dan has done and that somehow he's corrupted you.. that he'll turn you against me?" He finally admitted.

"That'll never happen." Haley always knew Nathan and Dan had a rocky relationship and she always assumed that when Nathan made it to the NBA, their relationship would have thawed but she was clearly wrong.

"I told you Nathan, he can only hurt us if we let him."

"What if that already happened?"

"Huh?" Haley asked.

"I was young.. I felt like the world was at my feet.. I was going to Duke, my girl was following me and then it was gone. Duke wasn't there anymore. They didn't want me."

"What're you talking about?"

"My spot on the team was taken, if I went to Duke, there was no guarantee I'd make it to the team. Actually it was a long shot because the roster was full. Maryland offered me a sure deal."

"Oh my God." Haley put her hands to her mouth. All this time, she thought that Nathan choose Maryland because they offered him a better deal than Duke. She had no clue Duke didn't want him.

"How come you didn't tell me?"

"I was ashamed." He looked away. "I mean everyone thought I was going to Duke, talked about all school year and then to have it all taken away from you. I didn't want to go through that." He shook his head. " Plus you already sacrificed going to Stanford for me, I couldn't let you sacrifice even more. Dan told me to go to Maryland and let you go and my dumbass sided with him. Looking back now, I should've fought for us. It didn't have to be this or that. We could've went to different schools, we could've tried to make it work but I didn't try. Dan drilled it in my head that letting you go was for the best for not only me both for you. It took me a while to see how wrong he was .. how wrong I was."

Nathan took another breath and saw tears forming in Haley's eyes. "And when I left you the morning we were together." Nathan looked at her belly. "I still thought that you were better off with out me."

"And what changed?"

"Nothing's changed. I still think you're better off without me." He half joked. "I don't deserve you Haley .. and you can call me selfish but when you told me you were pregnant. That was it for me. I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't take another day with out you in my life. I finally did what I wanted to and not what Dan wanted or my agent or what people expected Nathan Scott to do. So when I found out that Dan knew about the baby all along.. I just lost it. I felt like I was losing you all over again." Nathan paused. "I'm sorry for always messing up Hales."

"Nathan, listen to me. You need to stop blaming yourself for everything. If you're mad at me, get mad at me. I'm the one who kept Dan hidden from you. This is never going to work if we keep going around in circles like this."

"So how do we stop?"

"By doing what you just did right now, by talking to me.. by telling the truth, by admitting your mistakes and owning up to it." Haley put her hand back onto Nathan's. "I know I made a mistake by not telling you sooner. I'm sorry and like I said, it was something that I didn't want to keep from you."

"It's okay Hales, I get why you did it. I don't like it but I get it."

Haley nodded. "I still think you should've told me about Duke. It would've probably saved us a lot of grief but I can't live with the what ifs, not anymore. We have a past Nathan, as good and ugly as it is but I want to move past that, I want to move forward.. with you, if you'll have me?"

Nathan smiled and squeezed her hand before leaning in to give her a kiss.

"I love you Haley James."

. . . . .

Haley licked the remaining ice cream off her spoon while Nathan looked on amused. After their talk on the porch, Nathan decided to try and salvage the night. Dinner had gone terribly wrong but dessert was going a lot better. Nathan started up Haley's fireplace and put some pillows on the floor then grabbed some bowls, spoons and a carton of ice cream. They were currently sprawled out in front of the fire place, basking in the ambiance and each other's company. After talking earlier, they both felt a lot better and they were both happy to start talking about their past. Without doing that, there was no way they can move on to their future.

"You done already?" Nathan smirked.

"Are you calling me fat?" Haley narrowed her eyes and pointed her spoon at him.

"No." Nathan put his hand up in mock surrender.

"Thought so." Haley put her spoon down. "By the way, are you going to finish that?" Haley asked.

Nathan promptly handed her his bowl of ice cream.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm in the process of growing a human being inside me you know?"

"Oh I know." Nathan nodded. "And the bigger you are, the taller our son is going to be."

Haley playfully rolled her eyes. "You know it'd be funny if our son doesn't even like basketball." She teased.

"That's not funny." Nathan deadpanned and Haley laughed. In her mind, she can already see her little boy being chased around the river court with his daddy and Uncle Lucas on his tale.

"But if he isn't an athlete, maybe he'll be a rock star like his mom." Nathan commented as he noticed a dusty guitar in the corner of the room.

Haley almost choked on her ice cream.

"Who's a rock star?"

"I know I was pretty drunk that night we got together but I remember you belting it out on stage at Tric. I remember when I used to beg you to sing for me when it was just you and me at the café."

"Well things change." Haley looked away and put her bowl down.

"Hey, I thought we agreed to talk more and get to know each other again. In the five years we were apart something must've happened to get rid of your stage fright."

"Nathan, the night is going so well, I don't want to ruin it."

"You won't." He promised. "Please.. come on we're suppose to get to know each other again."

"Okay fine." Haley agreed. "Well I guess started my first year of college, my roommate Mia heard me singing in the shower during freshmen year. She was a music major and thought I had a real talent. She begged me to sing at the local coffee shop where they had open mic night sometimes. I always turned her down." Haley lamented. "Anyways, I go back to school after my dad died and Mia knew something was wrong. Finally, I broke down with her and told her about my dad and you."

"Me?"

"My first year at school was hard." Haley alluded. "It wasn't how I pictured my first year of college to be and Mia had always suspected something was up with me. She knew I had gone through a bad break up but she didn't know the whole story. Anyways, after talking to her, she suggested that I use music as some sort of therapy. I didn't believe her at first but I decided to give it a try. We went to the music studio at school, just the two of us. We'd sing, play the piano or guitar. It was actually quite fun. Well one time when I was alone in my dorm room, I picked up her guitar and started playing and singing to myself, some Beatles tune my dad liked. Little did I know Mia watched the whole thing and recorded it on her phone. The next thing I know, Mia is showing it to everyone and I finally give in and sing at open mic and Mia was right. I felt.. free. While I was up there, I can just let everything go. It was nice, it helped me heal."

"Well I'm glad." Nathan leaned over and kissed her forehead. "The world deserves to know how great of a talent you are Hales."

"So you're not mad?"

"No." Nathan laughed and shook his head. "I still hate how much I hurt you. I guess the guilt will always be there but I'm trying my best to move past it but either way I'm happy you found your voice Hales."

Haley blushed and tried to look away from Nathan.

"Come to think of it, I haven't heard you sing at all since I've been back." Nathan recalled. "I hope I'm not some musical bad luck or anything."

Haley laughed. "No, I've just been busy with the pregnancy and with my mom."

"How is your mom?"

"Good actually. She's with my brother right now. She can't wait to see you when she comes back to Tree Hill."

"Looking forward to it." Nathan tried to keep his composure despite the fact he thought about how awkward their first meeting in over five years would be.

"How about your mom? What's Deb up to?"

"Rehab." Nathan replied bluntly.

Haley frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Nah don't be. It's just after I left for school, things got worst with Dan. She divorced him but she was in a dark place. I finally cut her out of my life and she finally forced herself to get better. She checked into a rehab facility close to where my grandparents and my Uncle Cooper live."

"Well at least she's getting better."

"Yeah, she gets out in a few weeks, that's when I'll tell her about the baby."

"She doesn't know yet?"

Nathan shook his head. "They limit her contact with the outside world, don't want anything that can trigger a relapse."

"Oh I see."

"You know the game that you and Lucas came to was the first time I had family over to see my games."

"Are you serious?"

Nathan nodded. "Dan wasn't too thrilled I left school only after 2 years and well my mom.. she was too plastered to even get herself to the games."

"I'm so sorry Nathan." Haley put a comforting hand on his thigh.

"Don't be. It's okay. I'm ok." Nathan reassured her.

"Well you have me .. and you have Lucas. I really am happy you two are close again. My biggest fear when we were dating was that if we broke up, your relationship with Lucas would also go."

"For five years it did. I cut Lucas out of my life too when I shouldn't have. I know I give him a lot of crap but I don't know what I'd do with out him. With Luke, he gives it to me straight, no matter I like what he has to say or not."

"I thought you're good friends with Clay?"

"We are but then again he's on my payroll. It's just different with Luke, he's my brother you know."

Haley nodded in agreement.

"Anyways.." Nathan emphasized and got up and picked up a dusty guitar from the corner. He'd been eying it all night long.

"What do you say James? A private concert?"

Haley laughed. "I warn you, my fingers are swollen."

"Then maybe you can sick acoustic." Nathan grinned.

. . . . . .

"I guess this is goodnight." Nathan replied as he stood outside Haley's front door.

"You sure you want to leave. It's not that late." Haley tried to fight the yawn that was threatening to come out. She'd had a wonderful evening with Nathan and enjoyed singing for him. It reminded her of simpler days when it was just the two of them alone in Karen's café. She didn't want the night to end despite how tired she felt.

"Late for you." Nathan quipped. "Besides, we're taking it slow right?"

Haley smiled. "Right.. slow."

"Good night." Nathan leaned in placed a gentle but sweet kiss on her lips.

Haley waved him off and she closed the door behind her. She turned off the lights in the first floor before making her way upstairs to her room. She removed her watch and was about to take off her earrings when she heard her phone go off. She was pleasantly surprised to see Nathan's name on the caller ID.

"We don't have to go that slow, right?" Nathan quickly spoke when he heard Haley pick up.

"No we don't." Haley laughed. "Let me go downstairs and open the door."

"No need." Nathan quickly replied.

"Huh?"

"Just make sure your window is unlocked." Nathan hung up his phone.

He wouldn't, Haley thought to himself and she opened her curtains and looked outside her window and sure enough she saw Nathan climbing the tree by her window.

Haley laughed as she let Nathan inside. "You know you could've used the front door."

"Well, where's the fun in that?" He grinned and leaned in to kiss her.

Haley went into her bedroom while Nathan started removing his clothes. Haley had to look away as dirty thoughts starting rummaging through her brain. When she got out of the bathroom, Nathan was stripped down to his boxers already lying on the bed. She could get used to this, Haley thought to herself as she hopped in the bed to join him.

"Hey Hales?" Nathan called out to her after snuggling against each other for several minutes. He broke his embrace from her and sat up on his elbows.

"Yeah?"

"I need a favor?"

"Ok what is it?" Haley eyed him curiously.

"Don't be mad but I just.. I just want to move past this whole Dan thing but it bothers me that he still has a hold on you and that this house has a lien with his name on it."

"Ok?"

"Which is why, I want to pay off the lien. Whatever Dan paid, I'll match it, shoot I'll double it even."

"Nathan.."

"Hales, I know what you're going to say.. it's a lot of money but don't see it as me giving you money.. see it as me paying you back."

"Huh?"

"I mean, you know for carrying my son.. or you can think of it as my gift to our son's grandmother. I don't know .. call it what you will but please just take the money."

Haley pondered it for a second. "Yes, Nathan I'll take the money. I don't want to but I know it'll make you happy and actually, I feel better knowing that Dan isn't a lien holder in this house. I don't know how but I'll pay you back somehow."

"Haley.."

"Nathan." Haley warned. "Look for all you know, we won't work out and then it'll get ugly with money involved."

"As opposed to having a kid together."

"Uh. .you know what I mean." Haley said frustrated.

"First of all, what if we do work out and it won't even matter because what's mine is yours. Second, there's no strings attached, no matter what happens. Knowing that your feeling less burdened, especially while carrying our son is worth it." Nathan rubbed her belly. "Third.."

"There's a third?" Haley quipped.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Third." He continued, "is that you can think of this as your boyfriend doing something nice for you."

"So now you're my boyfriend?" Haley teased. "A little presuppositions?"

"You said to take things slow, not snails pace Hales. And if you don't want to label our relationship right now, it's fine cuz whether or not it takes one date or ten, it doesn't change how I feel or how I see you."

Haley smiled. "No it doesn't.. boyfriend." She leaned up to kiss him and then snuggled back into his arms. A moment later, she couldn't help but give out a heavy sigh.

"What?" Nathan asked as he could practically hear the gears in her mind turning.

"Just thinking about the last time you were here and now look at us."

"I didn't think I would be back here." Nathan replied softly. "But I'm glad I'm back."

"I'm glad you're back too."

"And this is probably the only time I don't mind sharing the bed with someone else." Nathan smiled as he rubbed Haley's belly.

"Me too." Haley said softly. "Me too." She buried her face in the crook of Nathan's neck and Nathan tightened his grip on her. She couldn't believe how safe and warm she felt. It shouldn't feel this good, she shouldn't feel comfortable so soon. While she still didn't want to rush too quickly into things with Nathan, she can already feel herself losing herself in him. Nathan Scott will be the death of her, she mused, but man what a way to go.

. . . . . .

"Mayor Scott will see you now."

"Thank you Renee." Haley stood up and walked passed Renee. Something about her always made her feel nervous. It probably had something to do with the raccoon eyes the girl had. She seriously needed to lay off the eye liner. Plus there was the fact that she spends so much time with Dan Scott. Things with Nathan have been great ever since their "date" night and she quickly wanted to put Dan behind them.

"Why Haley, what a pleasant surprise?" Dan got up as he saw Haley enter. "And I'm glad to see my grandson getting bigger." Dan made a move to reach for her belly but Haley took a step back.

"Now what do I owe the pleasure?"

Haley pulled out an envelope and handed it to Dan.

"What is this?" Dan peeked inside.

"On behalf of me and my family, I want to say thank you for your financial help with my mother's treatment."

"You included interest." Dan commented as he saw the large check.

"I think it was only fair, also included are the paper work to release the lien on my house."

"This is all good and well Haley but you can take the money and put it towards my grandson's college fund or something."

"Mr. Scott."

"Miss James." Dan interrupted. "I'll release the lien. You don't even need to pay me back."

"What do you want?" Haley quickly replied.

Dan had to laugh. She knew hi mall too well. "I'd settle for a new heart.. or even more time on this earth." Dan commented. "But I'll settle for this." Dan handed Haley a paper off his desk. Haley's eyes went wide.

"Now all you got to do is to get my sons there." Dan smirked as he leaned in against his desk.

To Be Continued . . . . .


	19. Over the Hills and Far Away

The Search For Something More

Chapter 19 - Over the Hills and Far Away

Shocking, I know I updated twice in the week. Thank you all for the reviews and please keep them coming. I'm picturing Haley at around five-six months, give or take. There's still a lot of things I want done before baby naley arrives. I believe according to how time progressed, it's been about three months since Chapter 1. You'll get to see what Dan has in mind for Nathan and Lucas in this chapter. Remember that season 7 was the main source for my inspiration. I don't want to give too much away but this definitely sets things up for the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Nathan scratched his head and blew out a frustrated sigh. He put the piece of paper down and turned to his brother. Lucas grabbed the paper and squinted at it and also scratched his head as well.

"How far away is it?" Lucas asked putting the piece of paper down.

"Like three hours away." Nathan replied.

"You're not seriously thinking of going?" Haley cried out as she closed her fridge to grab a bottle of water, the trio currently in Haley's kitchen.

"You shouldn't have gone to see him Hales." Lucas turned to his best friend.

"Yeah Hales, you should've let me come with you, or at least Lucas." Nathan added.

"Dan Scott may be a lot of things but it's not like he's a murderer." Haley slightly rolled her eyes but loved how both brothers were so protective of her and her unborn son.

"I can't believe you went to see him alone." Nathan huffed out and grabbed the piece of paper back from Lucas.

"Because I knew how you two would react." Haley replied back. The past week had been going great between them and although she knew it was a risk going to Dan without letting Nathan knowing, she knew that having either brothers would cause more drama than needed. What she got out of her meeting with Dan Scott was nothing she expected.

"And isn't it what you wanted." Haley reminded Nathan. Ever since their date night, the two had been inseparable, even sharing the same bed every night. Sometimes it was at his place, sometimes at hers. It never got anything past further than the occasional grope and make out session, but it was just nice to just be in the other's company. It was more than enough for both of them right now.

"Too bad it's not money he wants." Haley huffed and took a seat next to Nathan. She was completely shocked with what Dan wanted of her. Of all the things he could've wanted, he chose this. Then again, when it comes to Dan Scott, what else would she have expected than the unexpected.

"No cuz that would make it easy." Nathan rolled his eyes. He wasn't mad that Haley went. In fact, it was probably for the best. He'd probably do something stupid. It took him all his energy the last time he saw Dan not to hit him, dying man or not.

"And you're sure there's nothing else we can do?" Lucas turned to his brother.

"I had my lawyers go over the paper work. Dan knew what he was doing. We can cut him a check but it does nothing if he doesn't deposit it. And if we go through the lender." Nathan continued.

"It wouldn't matter." Lucas added. "Because Dan used the dealership as the lender." Lucas sighed.

"Exactly and Dan can take his sweet time doing the paper work. It can take months.. a year even to get the house back to Haley's family." Nathan added.

"Guys, it's okay. It's only a year and I don't mean to sound morbid but will Dan even be around in a year?" Haley scrunched her face.

"I don't know Hales but I'm looking at the lesser of two evils right now." Nathan looked at the paper Dan had given Haley earlier.

"Guys, you can't. I wouldn't want you two to go through that." Haley turned to both brothers.

"Hales, you said it yourself. Dan can only hurt us if we let him." Nathan reminded Haley.

"I'm with Nate, Hales. For all you know Dan will get a donor and then we really could wait another year to get your house back to you."

"Nathan, Lucas, I'm not asking you two to do this. I'm okay with waiting."

"Well it's a good thing we're volunteering." Nathan turned to Luke. "Right bro?"

"Yeah." Lucas nodded his head. "I mean it can't be that bad."

"Yeah, I mean." Nathan held the paper up. "It has plenty of things for us to do." Nathan added.

"You sure? I don't feel right about this." Haley replied.

"Yes Hales, it's fine." Nathan leaned in and kissed Haley on the forehead.

"Yeah and at least Nathan will I will face him together."

"Ok then." Haley huffed up and stood up. She seemed to finish her water a bit too fast. "But I'll be back, I have to pee." Haley scurried off to the bathroom and Nathan and Lucas couldn't help but chuckle. With the baby growing and pressing more on her bladder, she was constantly going to the bathroom.

As soon as Haley was out of ear shot, Lucas snatched the paper back from his brother.

"You sure you're ready to do this?"

"I don't want to have Haley wait for a year which means another year of dealing with Dan."

"Me either." Lucas agreed. "I can't believer we're going to this." Lucas muttered.

"Same here." Nathan agreed and leaned back against his chair.

"I guess we're going camping."

. . . . . .

"Do you think lamb skin is appropriate?" Clay turned to Nathan.

"It says it's water proof." Nathan was looking at the packaging. The two were currently at the local sporting goods store and Nathan was in search for a sleeping bag.

"Whatever you want Eddie Bauer." Clay muttered his breath to which Nathan quickly punched him on his arm. "Oww that hurt!"

"You deserved it." Nathan quickly replied.

"Don't tell me you're still mad at me over the whole Haley, Dan thing."

"Come to think of it, I am still mad at you for that." Nathan punched Clay again.

"Shit man! Stop punching me." Clay was now nursing his arm. That's going to leave a bruise.

"You deserve it for all the shit that caused between me and Haley."

"I told you, it was Skills not me."

"Guilty by association." Nathan quickly replied.

"That's not fair man. And didn't this bring you and Haley closer together? Now look at you two."

"Yeah, after it nearly tore us up. Now me and Luke have to spend some BS father son camping trip for it."

"Hey that's not my fault. Besides Skill already came to me with the info, what else was I suppose to do?"

"You were supposed to have my back. You knew how I feel about Haley."

"Which is why we had to tell you. You know I love Haley." Clay replied and Nathan gave him a threatening look that he was going to get punched again. "As a friend." Clay quickly added. "I really saw something with you two but after what Skills told me, I had my doubts man." Clay reasoned. "Love is blind dude, trust me."

"Love?" Nathan huffed. "You don't know a thing about love."

"I do too." Clay retorted.

"Right." Nathan sarcastically replied. "I know you fall in love like almost every night."

This time Clay was annoyed. "Did you know I was engaged?"

"What happened? The bachelor party go too wild and she found out?" Nathan snickered.

"No, she called it off. She left me." Clay replied seriously. The look on Clay's face left no doubt.

"Shit Clay, I didn't know." Nathan started feeling like shit.

"No, you don't, so next time you jump to conclusions, you might want to get your facts straight." Clay started walking away.

"Clay, look man I'm sorry." Nathan pushed the cart faster to catch up to him.

"Whatever man."

"Clay, I'm sorry. I know how much that sucks."

Clay eyed Nathan curiously. "What're you talking about?"

"Nothing." Nathan shook his head. "What happened anyway?"

"Why do you care?"

"Cuz I thought we're supposed to be friends. Now come on. You can tell me."

This wasn't the Nathan Clay was used to. "Where's the Nathan Scott I know?"

"The Nathan Scott you knew was a lie." Nathan replied. "I know I can be an ass but that was cuz something was missing from my life and that was Haley. With her I don't want to be a dick, I want.." Nathan stumbled on his words. "I want to be good enough to be seen with someone like her." He replied, thinking about first time he ever kissed Haley. "So I'm trying but if you don't want to tell me then whatever."

"Damn, Lucas was right. You really are whipped." Clay joked back and Nathan punched him again.

"Dude, what happened to not being a dick!"

"Well, I don't want to be a dick to her. You're still debatable." Nathan smirked. "Now what happened between you and this girl."

Clay sighed and rubbed his arm. "We met at school. She was smart and sweet, incredibly hot. We hit off right away. When we graduated, I was ready to take the next step, so I asked her to marry me."

"Just like that?"

"Yeah." Clay chuckled. "I didn't have a ring or anything, I was poor college graduate with only the promise of an internship at a sports agency but she said yes. It was one of the happiest times of my life." Clay lamented.

"But what happened?"

"I became a junior sports agent, I was bringing in more cash, we moved from a tiny studio to a large one bed room. I even got her a ring. Then, I don't know she jus started losing interest. She said I wasn't the man she fell in love with, that I was too caught up with my work and career. I tried to take less appointments, shoot I even offered to just elope. I was ready to marry her right there and then but she just left."

"Because you changed?"

"She always knew that being a sports agent was a dream of mine. It's all I talked about all through college. I mean sure I had to spend more time in the office but I always tried to spend more time with her. She would always cancel. She said she missed how we were, just a couple of broke kids trying to make ends meet. I told her we aren't kids anymore, that one day we'll have kids and we're the ones who have to be responsible."

"And?"

"And one day, she left the ring on the table and left. She wasn't ready to move on, I was and instead of trying to make it work, she bailed on me." Clay shook his head. "What's ironic was that I tried so hard to get her back. I even offered to quit my job but you know where she ends up? Her mom gave her money to start her own business and she moved in with her sister and her rich brother in law." Clay laughed bitterly. "So I guess at the end, I didn't know her either. She wasn't ready to move on with me but she's quick to on her own. She did a number on me man. Its hard for me to trust which is why I had to tell you what Skills found out, not like it mattered anyways cuz Skills was going tell you. I didn't want you to get played like how I was."

"Fair enough but Haley isn't her." Nathan replied. "And it sucks you got played but maybe you just haven't found the right one and you're never going to find her by messing around with all the wrong ones.

"Easy for you to say but take the pregnancy out of the equation, what makes you think Haley is the one?"

"Dude I've known since I was 16 years old."

"But look what happened, how do you like really know?"

Nathan paused. "I don't know really. It's a feeling I guess."

"Feelings gets misplaced." Clay spoke from experience.

"Well, she's seen me at my best and seen me at my worst and even after all that she still loves me. I know I don't deserve it but I .. I can't be away from her. I tried it once, I can't do it again."

Clay nodded.

"Look Clay, I know I don't say this enough but I do appreciate everything you do and having my back. I may not like it sometimes but thank you."

"You're welcome Nate." Clay cleared his throat. "Now can we please stop with the punching."

"We'll see." Nathan laughed. "Now come on, you're here to help me. It's not like I've ever gone camping before."

"Seriously?"

"When I was little, my dad's idea of camping was renting out a fully tricked out cabin." Nathan shook his head. "Now he wants us to spend a weekend in the woods. Go figure. Your dad and my " He shrugged.

"Well, we should definitely get some flash lights, we already got the tent and the sleeping bags."

"Lucas was supposed to get those." Nathan stopped and looked around. "Speaking of which, where the hell did he go?"

"Oh there he is." Clay pointed out.

Nathan shook his head and headed towards Lucas. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Trying to see which fishing pole is better." Lucas was currently holding two in his hand.

"You idiot." Nathan took the fishing poles away from him. "What in the world makes you think I'd like to go fishing."

"What? It's supposed to be relaxing."

"Says who?" Nathan replied back and looked at Lucas' cart which was mostly empty. "And you didn't even get the things you were supposed to get. Now put that crap down and let's the get the rest of the things we'll actually need." Nathan stormed off.

"Someone's in a bad mood." Lucas snickered over to Clay.

"Tell me about it." Clay replied."

"You know I have to go on this stupid camping trip too you know."

"He already punched me like three times since we got here.

"I know the feeling." Lucas lifted his shirt and Clay saw a small bruise on the Lucas' side. "To be fair I gave him a similar one." Lucas smirked as he tucked his shirt back in.

Clay chuckled. He saw first hand how the two brothers get rowdy with each other, especially after a game of NBA Live. "At least you got to hit back."

"At least you get paid."

"Touche." The two pumped fists and went ahead to meet up with Nathan.

. . . .

"Love you Mrs. James!" Brooke yelled from across Haley's living room.

Haley laughed and put the phone away from her ear, "My mom loves you too Brooke." Then Haley put the phone back to her ear and said her goodbyes with her mom.

"So how's your mom?" Brooke took a seat across from Haley on the couch.

"She's good. She's enjoying the time with her grandkids."

"And she'll have another one soon."

"I know." Haley rubbed her belly. "I can't believe in a few months he'll be here."

"Speaking of which, how'd she take the news about you and Nathan getting back together?"

"Good." Haley crinkled her nose. "Actually, she sort of expected it."

"Well you know what you say about mother's intuition."

"Maybe. But she is coming back home soon and I know Nathan's a little nervous about seeing her."

"Well I would hope so. I just hope he's treating you right, I wouldn't want to slap him again." Brooke picked up a magazine from the coffee table.

"Wait, you slapped him?"

"Wait, huh?" Brooke hid her face behind the magazine.

"Brooke." Haley warned.

"So I may have slapped Nathan."

"BROOKE!"

"That was a while ago, way before you guys back together." Brooke replied. "Don't give me that look. He needed to prove he isn't an ass.. and if you ask me, that's an on going process."

"Brooke, I told you, Nathan and I are trying to move on."

"Well at least he came clean with you about everything that happened after high school."

"Yes, so please play nice with him. I know he's still feeling guilty about the whole thing."

"I've been good." Brooke replied. "Besides, I needed to make sure you're okay."

"Brooke, as you can see I'm perfectly fine."

"Haley." Brooke said in a serious tone and put her magazine down. "I'm not trying to bash on Nathan or you, but I just want to make sure you're okay. I mean, you forget I was there five years ago. As nauseating as it is to see you two love birds together again, I just don't want you getting too caught up. You have to admit Hales that when it comes to Nathan, you don't exactly think straight."

Haley sighed. "I know and I appreciate you looking out for me but like I told you and Peyton, we're taking it slow. Yes, we're spending a lot of time together but we're also getting to know each other again." Haley smiled. "It's been really great actually."

"And what have you found out?"

"For five years I've lived in denial that I didn't love Nathan even though I did and now that I'm getting to know hi again I feel like I'm falling in love with him all over again, if that makes any sense."

"Crystal."

"Sort of like you and Lucas."

"Don't even go there." Brooke warned.

"What, you two have been spending a lot of time too. I feel we're back in high school again."

"Yes but me and Luke are just hanging out. Sure an occasional flirt here and there but we haven't done anything, unlike you who's practically attached to the hip with Nathan lately."

"Oh God Brooke, I'm a mess." Haley buried her head on one of the throw pillows. "I haven't seen him since this morning and I'm already missing him like crazy."

Brooke couldn't help but laugh. As scared as she was for her friend, she couldn't help but be happy for her. Although she's given Nathan hell, she never doubted his love for Haley even if it doesn't always end up well.

"Well you've been spending the night with him this past week. The sex must be that good, huh?" Brooke asked eagerly.

"Brooke!"

"What?" Brooke sat back. "It's a legitimate question. Plus I've seen the boy with out his shirt on Hales, I hate to admit it, he's hot and since I'm not getting any right now, I need to live vicariously through you." Brooke sat up. "So tell me did it like get bigger from high school."

Haley turned tomato red. "Brooke! I can't believe you're asking me this."

"What?"

"And not like I need to explain myself to you but I told you, Nathan and I are taking our time."

"Wait, don't tell me.." Brooke eyes opened in shock. "Oh my God, you two haven't."

"Brooke!"

"I'm just surprised that's all. I mean, this is Nathan we're talking about, I thought he'd be doing push ups on you every night."

"Brooke!"

"Or the other way around." Brooke pondered.

"Brooke!"

"No, wait you're pregnant, it would be him on top, right?" Brooke asked Haley. "Oh how would you know, you're not getting any."

"Brooke would you quit!" Haley laughed, her cheeks flaming red. "It's not as simple as that."

"It's not like you guys have to worry about using protection." Brooke eyed Haley's bump.

"I can't believe I'm telling you this." Haley shook her head. "Emotionally, I don't think I'm there yet. Physically, I mean yes, Nathan's chiseled chest is the best pillow I've ever had but like you said." Haley rushed out. But "I'm pregnant and I wouldn't even know what to do about the … logistics of it all."

"Hales, pregnant women have sex all the time."

"I know that but even if I wanted to, I don't want to hurt the baby or anything."

"Hales, it's fine, it's not Nathan's going to poke the baby." Brooke laughed but Haley stayed quiet. Brooke gasped, "So did it like get bigger you know?" Brooke held up her hands.

Haley threw her pillow at Brooke. "You're so bad."

. . . . . . .

"How come this hasn't been opened yet?" Clay walked into Nathan's room, an unopened manila envelope in his hand.

"If you couldn't tell, I've been busy." Nathan was packing the rest of his things. He hoped he wasn't forgetting anything.

"It's your contract with the Sonics, Nate." Clay pointed out.

"I know."

"And?"

"And between dealing with my, phycho Dad winning the heart of my pregnant girl friend, I haven't had the time." Nathan huffed out. "And I thought we discussed this." Nathan pointed out and lowered down the tone of his voice. His brother, Haley and Brooke were downstairs and he didn't want any of them to hear. "I don't want to go back to Seattle."

"I know that but Charlotte hasn't given us any word yet. I mean this was out of the blue for them, they're not even sure if the offer is genuine."

"Well, it's your job to make sure that I'm dead serious. I mean, do they not know I'm going to be a dad? Things are going great between Haley and I and the last thing we need is to add the possibility of me moving back West."

"I told you I'll do my best but at least take a look at the contract, it's a good offer."

"I'm sure it is and you're a good agent for getting me this. But I don't want a good agent, I want a great agent and I hope you can deliver."

"Nate, I am great, I am freaking awesome." Clay pointed out. "But Charlotte has a packed roster and I can't work miracles and I can't read people's mind. This is a good contract deal. I know you don't want to uproot Haley but she loves you. She'll follow you."

"I don't want to give her the option."

"Nate, please don't just dismiss it."

"I'm not." Nathan pointed out and took the envelope from Clay and put it in his bag. "Let's just call this plan C." Nathan zipped his bag up and headed downstairs.

"Wait, then what's plan B?" Clay called out.

. . . . . .

"Finally!" Lucas huffed and stood up from the couch.

"You all packed?" Haley walked up to Nathan.

"Yeah, I just got to put in these boots." Nathan held the pair up and bent down to put him in his bag.

"What're those, size 14?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah why?" Nathan replied.

"Oh just thought you were size 13 like Luke."

"Yeah like back in High School." Nathan gave Brooke a confused look.

"Why Haley, Nathan's shoe size has grown." Brooke smirked.

Haley gave Brooke a dirty look before smiling sweetly at Nathan.

"Don't mind her, she's had too much sugar today." Haley pulled out a plastic bag from the kitchen. "Put it in here, you don't want to dirt to go everywhere." Haley helped Nathan put away the last of his things in an effort to distract him from Brooke's comment.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this." Lucas remarked.

"There's still time to back out guys." Haley announced.

Just then, they heard the sound of Dan's SUV honking.

"We're going to be fine Hales." Nathan came up to her and kissed her on the lips.

Nathan and Lucas headed outside, where Dan was leaning against his car.

"There you boys are." Dan smiled.

"Just open the trunk Dad." Nathan rolled his eyes and started to put his things inside. Lucas opened the trunk to his car and started moving his things in there as well.

"That's a lot of things you guys are bringing." Dan remarked.

"We're just being prepared." Nathan gave a tight smile.

"Wait, you have bug spray and mace?" Dan pointed out.

"Yeah we're hoping at least one of them will help keep you away." Lucas sarcastically remarked and he and Nathan pumped fist.

"Haley, you look wonderful. We'll see you in a few days." Dan said politely.

"Hopefully sooner." Haley plastered a smile on her face.

Nathan walked in between them and gave Haley a hug.

"Play nice." Haley whispered into Nathan's ear.

"It's Dan Hales."

"I mean with Lucas." Haley gave him a peck on the lips. "But remember, it's just for the weekend." Haley pulled back. "Luke, watch out for this one."

"Will do." Lucas nodded his head as Nathan gave Haley one last kiss.

"You guys are making me sick, let's go." Lucas whined and both Haley and Nathan rolled their eyes.

"You behave as well." Haley went to hug her best friend.

"Don't forget to think about the contract." Clay whispered over to Nathan.

"And you better figure out what's going on at Charlotte." Nathan whispered back and then started heading towards the car.

The two brothers headed inside the SUV, and both opted to sit in the back leaving Dan alone in the driver seat.

"Bye!"

Haley, Brooke and Clay waved them off.

"You think we'll ever see them again?" Haley replied after they pulled away.

"Don't worry, I think Lucas packed enough gear to survive for the next seven years."

"I don't think Nate can be out in the woods for that long. He's not exactly and outdoors type." Clay added.

Haley huffed. "No, he isn't."

To Be Continued . . . .


	20. Searching for a Former Clarity

The Search For Something More

Chapter 20 - Searching for a Former Clarity

Sorry for the delay but with summer winding down and attending two weddings, there was barely any time to write. There was a lot to cover in this chapter and I almost debated in breaking it up in half. There's some stuff from the show in here that I'm sure you'll pick up on. For the most part, there was a lot of playfulness and banter in this chapter but there are some key important things in this chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and I hope you guys are still reading lol. Please share your thoughts.

. . . . .

Dan looked at his rear view mirror and found both his sons still asleep. In fact, for the majority of the drive they were asleep. He'd tried to make conversation but only found himself with one word responses and sometimes a grunt or two. He wasn't surprised though. He expected as much from the both of them. Still maybe silence was for the better. He knew this wouldn't be easy for them, it wasn't a walk in the park for him either but he figured that getting out of Tree Hill, just the three of them would be the best approach. He couldn't help but smile as he saw that both brother's had their mouths open and their head tilted back. He could've sworn he saw a little bit of drool from the side of Nathan's mouth. A wave of sadness washed over him as he can imagine a younger Nathan and a younger Lucas both sleeping in the back of the car, or playing basketball, going to games. But that was the only thing he can do, imagine for he abandoned Lucas and ended up hurting Nathan for his mistakes.

He glanced back again and found that Lucas had tilted over and was resting his head against Nathan's shoulder. Dan couldn't help but chuckle to himself as Nathan quickly pushed Lucas back to his side. Lucas instinctively pushed Nathan back before both of them quickly settled back into slumber. Dan wondered if both of them knew what they were even doing. He'd had similar experiences with his own brother, back when they were young and Dan didn't know any better. Before his pride and cockiness took over, before he became a big shot in high school, before any of that. He could only imagine what Keith was up to now. Last he heard, he was some sort of teacher or mechanic down in Charlotte. So broken was his relationship with his own brother, he often wondered know about the status of his own sons.

"We're here!" Dan announced as he put the car to a screeching halt. Both Lucas and Nathan abruptly woke up and were startled by the sudden stop.

"Nice driving Dad." Nathan rolled his eyes and unbuckled his seat belt.

"Come on sleepy heads, time to get up."

Lucas got out of the car as well and started to stretch.

"Did you knock out for the whole ride?" Lucas whispered over to Nathan.

"Yeah, although I started to pretend to sleep when Dan tried talking to me."

"Same here." Lucas and Nathan both chuckled and pumped fist.

Dan eyed the two curiously, obviously whispering something funny to each other.

"Quit lagging." Dan called out and opened the trunk and started to get their stuff out of the car. Reluctantly, Lucas and Nathan followed suit.

. . . .

"How much farther?" Nathan complained as the trio continued their trek through the forest.

"Told you not to bring so much." Dan chuckled as he was a good several feet in front of them.

"This is your fault." Nathan turned to Lucas.

"What're you talking?" Lucas was annoyed. "We both agreed to do this for Hales."

"Not that you idiot, all this crap we have to lug around …that you bought with my credit card no less."

"Like you couldn't afford it." Lucas rolled his eyes. "Plus, I was just being prepared." Lucas replied.

"I should've known, first rule of packing is to pack light."

"Yeah, way to tell me now." Lucas huffed as the two continued to walk with all their gear.

"This looks good." Dan announced as they found a clearing.

"Finally." Both brothers sighed in relief as they let their gear drop to the ground.

"So what now?" Lucas asked as he took a seat on a nearby log.

"We set up our tents." Dan announced and started to unpack his gear and started taking out all the components for his tent. He heard nothing from both of them and turned around and found both guys with their shirts off and wiping their sweat on it. Then they reached into their bags and pulled another shirt out. Nathan had his back to them, making sure they couldn't see what was around the necklace he was wearing.

"You guys should be more concerned with your tent than looking pretty." Dan remarked. "The first thing you want to do is lay out all your components first before you start building, now if you guys need help, I can show you."

Nathan and Lucas both smirked at each other, as if they were up to something.

"Don't worry Dad, we got it covered." Nathan replied as he opened his bag and pulled out his tent. Dan watched as Nathan unlatched two clips and then, like magic, Nathan stretched it out and it unfolded outwardly in all directions. Nathan locked the clips back in and just like that the tent was already set up. The tent looked sturdy enough and big enough as well.

"Nate and I are sharing." Lucas tried to keep a straight face. Normally, they would've opted for separate tents but being in the forest alone with Dan, well that was scarier than any wild animal the woods had.

"It's one of them easy to build tents." Lucas tried to hide his laughter. "But don't let us stop you from building your's."

"Yeah dad, me and Luke are going to grab some wood for a fire."

"Yeah, have fun." Luke waved off and the two walked away leaving Dan all alone.

. . . . .

Haley tapped her foot and placed her hands a top her belly. "I can't believe I agreed to this." She turned to her left to face Brooke.

"And I can't believe you drove all the way to Tree Hill to join?" Haley turned to her right to face Peyton.

"What?" Both Peyton and Brooke replied innocently.

"Tutormom, weren't you the one to tell me that knowledge is power." Brooke replied.

"Yes, but I don't want the whole world to know." Haley hissed.

"Hales, it's just us." Peyton remarked. "Besides I'm curious as to what the doctor has to say."

Now both Haley and Brooke turned to Peyton.

"Are you trying to tell us something?" Haley questioned.

"Yeah, P. Sawyer… you have been looking a little plump." Brooke added.

"What no! And I am not looking plump." Peyton gasped and reached over Haley and smacked Brooke with the magazine she was reading.

"Oww." Brooke complained and Haley laughed.

"One day, Jake and I will probably have kids of our own and I'd like to be prepared cuz seriously Hales, I don't know how you can handle not getting any."

"You forget that back in high school, she gave Nathan the biggest case of blue balls for months." Brooke added.

"You guys are horrible.. I can't believe …" Haley was about to scold them again when the secretary called her name.

"Miss James, the doctor will see you now."

Haley promptly stood up and stopped when she saw Brooke and Peyton on her heels. "Stay!" She ordered.

"You're no fun." Brooke pouted.

Haley shook her head and proceeded inside.

. . . . .

"I told you that tent would be money." Lucas bumped shoulder's against Nathan.

"For the money I paid for it, it better."

"Says the NBA player."

"What I have a family to support."

Lucas bit his tongue from saying something he knew could potentially get his ass kicked. Plus he had no intention of hurting his brother, even though it was for his own good. Lucas figured he would save such comments for another time.

"Dude, what you make in a year most people earn in a life time."

"Did you just call me dude?" Nathan narrowed his eyes at Lucas as he picked up a stick from the ground. "And my salary is high but not that high."

"But I bet the Sonics are going to give you a nice raise for next season."

"Maybe." Nathan shrugged.

"I saw the contract."

"…"

"Are you going to say anything?"

"Nope." Nathan shook his head.

"Anything?"

Nathan had to laugh otherwise he'd probably deck Lucas with a left hook. "What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know, anything?" Lucas threw his hands up. "I know this was a contract year for you Nate."

"Yeah and now I have a contract and if you're going to ask me details, don't bother cuz I don't know any details, you're better off asking Clay for that."

"I'm assuming by your pissed off attitude that you haven't discussed any of this with Haley."

". . . ." Nathan stayed quiet and continued picking up fire wood.

"I think that's enough wood Nate." Lucas replied. "Nathan, would you stop and talk to me. What's going on with you?"

"Nothing is going on okay." Nathan threw the sticks of wood to the ground. "I haven't talked to her about it cuz I don't want to mess things up. Haley and I are in a good place right now."

"But what's going to happen when you go back to Seattle?"

"I'm trying to work on that."

"Are you afraid Haley won't follow you to Seattle?"

"No, I'm afraid she will." Nathan sighed and picked up the wood he just dropped to the ground.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means Haley has gone through enough and I'm trying to figure it all out." Nathan sighed and shook his head. "Look Luke, I appreciate you going big brother on me right now but I'm still a little drained from the ride and dealing with Dan. Can we not talk about this now?"

Lucas simply nodded and helped pick up the rest of the wood and stacked them on top of the pile Nathan was carrying.

"Would you carry some, this shit is heavy?" Nathan complained.

"Nah it looks like you got it, plus I'm sure you can use the exercise." Lucas turned on his heals and started heading back to their camp.

"Are you calling me fat?" Nathan glared, to which only Lucas laughed in response.

. . . .

Haley waited inside the small office until her doctor came walking in a minute later.

"Hey Haley." Doctor Anderson took a seat in front of her. "We weren't expecting you back so soon, is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine." Haley fiddled with her fingers. "It's just, this is so embarrassing." Haley sighed.

"You sure everything is fine?" The doctor eyed her curiously.

"Sex." She finally blurted.

"Last time I checked, you're having a boy, unless the baby somehow has two umbilical cords." The doctor tried to joke.

"No, not that I mean, sex with me."

The doctor looked at her baffled.

"No, not you cuz I know Nathan will probably kill you but Nathan and I sex ..I mean Nathan and I having sex." Haley felt so flustered. "I mean what if Nathan were having sex, well obviously we had sex." Haley pointed to her belly.

"Let me take a shot in the dark, but I'm assuming that you want to ask if you are healthy enough for sexual activity." The doctor butted in.

Haley sighed and felt her cheeks turning red. She was going to kill Brooke for this but she didn't know how much more she can take sleeping next to Nathan and not doing more.

"Yes."

The doctor chuckled a little bit. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about Haley. Believe it or not, this is a common question many first time mothers ask." The doctor tried to put her at ease. "And there is nothing in your medical history to show that you can not have intercourse."

"Thank you doctor, it's just that I don't want to do anything to harm the baby."

The doctor reached around him and pulled out a pamphlet and handed it to Haley. "Here are the most common questions about sex during pregnancy. So far you're low risk, which means that so long as you and your partner are comfortable with it then by all means go for it."

"Now the comfort part is the most important, obviously, you don't want to feel awkward and uncomfortable, lying on your back or your side is fine, whichever position works with you. Keep the lines of communication open with your partner." The doctor started skimming through the pamphlet. "Your baby is protected by the amniotic sac and surrounding fluid and the muscles of the uterus. The penis does not come into contact with the baby during intercourse." The doctor flipped the pamphlet over to the next page.

"Wait, you sure?"

"Yes, there's a lot of space between down there and your fetus."

"You sure?" Haley questioned again.

"Haley, I'm not lying to you."

"No, I know that, it's just that, you don't know Nathan. He's really big!" Haley immediately covered her mouth, totally embarrassed and completely mortified that she just divulged such personal information about her boyfriend.

The doctor couldn't help but laugh. "Well, the nurses here already say how luck you are. But Haley, in all seriousness, aside from the amniotic sac, the uterus, there's also a thick mucus plug that seals off the cervix and helps guards against infection, so you'll be fine Haley. Remember to just do what's comfortable for you."

Haley sighed, she really was going to kill Brooke. "Thank you doctor."

. . . . .

Dan got on his knees and was by the wood Nathan brought over earlier and started to flick two pieces of stone against each other. Lucas watched on with curiosity.

"Now I saw this in a movie once, we just need one spark." Dan kept flicking the two stones together. The past few hours have been pretty uneventful aside from the awkward silence amongst the three of them. Once it started getting dark, Dan brought over a cooler with food and drinks. Dan was now trying to set up a camp fire so they can start cooking.

Nathan reached into his bag and grabbed a small bottle of lighter fluid and some matches. At least over packing was good for something. Nathan dumped the fluid over the wood and threw the match inside.

"Alright Spielberg, why don't you produce us some dinner." Nathan smirked.

Dan avoided saying a snark remark on his own and went about setting up a make shift grill over the camp fire and cooking.

"How's your steak?" Dan asked Lucas sometime later. "I hope it isn't too dry."

"It's fine." Lucas mumbled. Truth be told it was actually pretty good but he was ready to admit that.

"How is your's Nate?" Dan asked Nathan.

"It's okay." Nathan replied back.

"You remember when we would grill at the beach house?" Dan asked Nathan.

"Yeah." Nathan replied curtly.

Dan turned to Lucas. "The back porch over looked the beach and the water. We had some good times there."

"And if I remember correctly, you never let me touch the grill." Nathan rolled his eyes at his father's attempt of making small talk.

"And I'm sorry for that. Maybe I could've taught you to be a better cook."

Nathan replied only with a grunt.

"And I'm sorry too Lucas. Those nights at the beach house, you should've been there. I'm .. I'm sorry for it all."

Nathan put his food down, not believing this shit.

"Dad, seriously, what the hell?" Nathan went into defense mode.

"Nathan, this is something I need to say to Lucas."

"No dad, cut it out. Alright, just cut the crap."

Lucas held his hand up and motioned his brother to calm down. "It's okay Nate." Lucas then turned to Dan. "If Dan wants to apologize for being an ass my whole life then let's hear it."

Dan nodded his head and cleared his throat. "I am sorry Lucas, for you .. for your mother. I was young and immature, it's not an excuse."

"Good cuz I'm not interested in your excuses." Lucas also put his food down. "The one decent thing you do, you use it as a ploy to get me and Nathan out here. Look, Dan maybe you are dying and seeing the light now. If this is something you need to get off your chest then fine. Cuz as far as I'm concerned, you've been dead to me for a long time now."

With that Lucas got up and made his way inside his tent.

"Good going Dad." Nathan muttered as he got up and started cleaning up.

"I mean what I said Nathan, I am sorry."

Nathan sighed. "And maybe I actually believe you but it doesn't change anything Dan. If you want to stop being an ass then stop and pretending that you aren't still makes you one."

Nathan left Dan and joined Lucas inside the tent. The tent was rather large but the two men were still fairly close to each other.

"You okay?" Nathan asked as he lied down next to Luke.

"Yeah."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really?" Lucas replied dryly, still staring at the ceiling of the tent.

"Come on, you obviously have something to say." Nathan was persistent.

"Actually, I don't." Lucas was getting annoyed.

"Come on."

"Nathan." Lucas hissed and was surprised a second later to hear laughing from Nathan.

Lucas propped himself up on his elbows to face him.

"What?" Lucas squinted at him.

"It's annoying right? Remember that the next time you keep badgering me." Nathan snickered.

Lucas shook his head and smacked Nathan with his pillow.

"You're lucky I'm a nice guy and I'm not going to hit you back." Nathan smiled, obviously pleased with himself.

"Nice guy, whatever." Lucas mumbled.

Nathan just laughed.

"But seriously Luke, if you need to talk."

"I'll keep it mind." Lucas reached over to kill the portable lantern they had.

The two lay there in silence for a moment before Nathan spoke up once more.

"Hey Luke." Nathan called out, a smirk developing on his face.

"What?"

Nathan reached over and smacked Lucas with his pillow.

"Oww, what the hell? What happened to nice guy?"

"Ehh." Nathan shrugged and started laughing.

Meanwhile, Dan could only watch from the outside looking in. He couldn't really hear what they were saying but he heard some laughing and saw the tent move. Dan chuckled to himself, seeing the boys back to their banter. While the site warmed his heart, there was another part that longed to be part of it. Climbing inside his own tent he was once again alone. The two people that meant the most two him were only a few feet away but they were worlds apart.

. . . . .

"Rise and shine!" Dan announced cheerily as he opened Nathan and Lucas' tent to let the light in.

A serious of moans and groans could be heard and both Lucas and Nathan turned to their stomachs to ward off the offending light.

"Come on boys, it's a beautiful day out."

More grunts can be heard but if there was one thing Dan was good at was persistence. After a couple more minutes of annoying his sons, they finally got up. Their slumber now disturbed, they both got out of their tents and stretched out.

"You know what they say, the early bird catches the worm." Dan announced cheerily as he pulled out his fishing poles.

"You got to be kidding me." Nathan muttered over to Lucas.

"Oh fishing." Lucas said excitedly.

"Of course you would find that entertaining." Nathan shook his head.

"What?" Lucas asked confused.

A couple of minutes later, the trio made their way to a nearby lake. Dan frowned when he saw only one boat at the docks, one small boat.

"I thought there would be more boats out here." Dan scratched his head, trying to figure something out.

"Well maybe if we got here earlier." Nathan sarcastically remarked.

Dan rolled his eyes and went back to thinking. "You know, I really wanted you boys to go fishing. It was something me, \my dad and Keith did but I never got to do it with either of you."

Lucas looked at Nathan and nodded towards the boat. Then he stepped in and grabbed two fishing poles from Dan. "Well Keith took me fishing plenty of times, think Nathan here is the only newbie. So we'll take the boat and when we come back you can take a go at it."

"Yeah dad, we got this." Nathan was already by the boat and pushing it out to the water.

Before Dan could even react, both boys were already paddling away, far far away from him.

. . . . . . .

Nathan yawned again for the fifth time. "This blows."

"Oh you're just mad cuz you're not catching anything." Lucas proclaimed proudly as he reeled in another fish. That was the third one he caught so far.

"Maybe you should quit complaining. You got all this negative energy around you, the fish aren't going to bite if you keep that up."

"Don't tell me you're into that scientology crap?"

"Huh?"

"Nevermind!" Nathan huffed out. "Can we just go back?"

"And face Dan?"

"Good point." Nathan turned back around and threw his line back in the water. "By the way, good thinking about grabbing the boat earlier."

"Yeah, Dan looked a little shocked." Lucas snickered.

"I hate fishing but the look on his face was totally worth it." Nathan laughed. "I almost felt bad. I mean it's clear he wants to spend time with us. He is dying.. I think."

"A weekend of playing nice isn't going to make up for a life time of being an ass." Lucas replied. "Look, I don't want to see the guy die but that doesn't mean I have to let the guy in my life. He had 23 years to do that."

"If it's any consolation, you didn't miss much."

Lucas smiled and shook his head. "That doesn't make me feel any better."

Nathan nodded in agreement.

"I asked to transfer to the Bobcats." Nathan said softly after a few minutes of silence.

"You did what?"

"I want to transfer to the Bobcats."

"I heard you. I just… wow." Lucas replied, stunned.

"Yeah so you can see why I'm not in a rush to see what Seattle has to offer me."

"So you're just going to leave the team you won a ring with for Charlotte?"

"If I've learned anything over these past couple of months.. these past couple of years is that basketball isn't everything."

"You're going to do all this for Haley? Did you talk to her about it?"

"No and I want to surprise her."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Lucas warned.

"I can't be across the country while she's in Tree Hill. This isn't only about her but our son too, I'm doing it for them."

"That's admirable Nate but I really think you should talk to Haley about it."

Nathan scratched his head, feeling another Lucas induced headache. He thought Lucas would be happy for him. "Trying to talk basketball to Haley is like you talking about to me about your stupid books, it's just going to go in one ear and out the other. And this is my choice to make Luke, not Haley's. When Dan found out Karen was pregnant, he still ran and went to USC. I'm not going to repeat his mistakes, I'm not abandoning Haley or our son. She's been through a lot and this would be just one less thing to worry about."

"So that means I'm really stuck with you huh?" Lucas tried to hide his smile. While he still thought that Nathan should talk to Haley, Nathan had a point. This was his choice and he was glad he was choosing Haley over basketball, something he should've done a long time ago.

"Already trying to get rid of me? You think I'm Dan." Nathan joked.

"Oh, why'd you say his name?"

"Why?"

"Cuz he found another boat and he's rowing this way."

"Quick start paddling!"

. . . . .

After leaving the lake, the guys put the fish they caught in a cooler and headed off on their next activity. They waited in line while another family in front of them was using the zip line.

"You know Nathan, I remember you trying to set one of these things up in the backyard." Dan commented.

"Yeah and I remember getting my ass kicked for it."

"Yeah cuz you could've broken your neck. You'll realize that once your own little boy starts crawling and walking around."

"Can't wait." Nathan muttered. Any more fatherly advice, he thought to himself and rolled his eyes. Dan was the last person who should be giving parental advice to. Nathan tapped Lucas on his shoulder and motioned for him to take his lead.

The family in front of them went ahead and Dan was holding onto the handle for the zip line. "Which one of you wants to go first?"

"I don't know Dad. It so far down." Nathan commented.

"Come on son, give it a go."

"I can't do it." Lucas piped in. "It's too high, I'm going back down the trail."

"Yeah Dad, I better go with Lucas. I don't want him to get lost."

"Yeah, cuz I'm directionally challenged." Lucas quickly added.

"Come on guys, it's fun." Dan replied. "And it's not that high?"

"It looks like it." Nathan remarked.

"Look, those little kids just did it." Dan got on the platform. "Watch this." Dan started to make his way down the zip line. Dan rode it all the way down and was over the ridge several yards away.

"Your turn!" Dan turned around but found both his sons already climbing down the tree.

Dan waited for several minutes as he waited for Lucas and Nathan to join him.

"Took you guys long enough." Dan commented dryly as the two finally arrived.

"I did say I was directly challenged." Lucas replied.

"And what about you, the human compass?" Dan turned to Nathan.

"Whatever Dad, we're here. So what's next?"

So far Nathan and Lucas have done everything in their power to get away from him. Time was already flying and time is a luxury Dan Scott did not have, which meant Dan choose the next activity very carefully.

"You'll see." He smirked.

. . . . . .

"Whoo!" Nathan exclaimed as he cleared a small hill and slowed his vehicle to a stop to join Lucas.

"Nice jump back there." Lucas took off his helmet.

Nathan laughed. "You too." Nathan killed the engine to his ATV. This was more up to Nathan's ally. Finally, an activity he can enjoy. "I think we totally scared the crap out of some cows."

"You know what, maybe we should be careful. Given our family driving history one of us is bound to end up in the hospital."

"You still haven't let that one go, haven't you?" Nathan smirked.

"Hey, you were the one that almost crashed your Uncle Cooper's race car when we were in high school."

"Yeah, I told you the clutch was worn out." Nathan tried to defend himself.

"Yeah yeah." Lucas laughed.

Nathan took off his gloves and felt around his shirt. With all the excitement, he wanted to make sure he didn't lose it.

Lucas was about to ask him what he was looking for when Dan suddenly pulled up next to them.

"These things are pretty awesome, I think I scared a bunch of cows." Dan laughed. "Now what're you two ladies still standing around there?" Dan egged on and revved his engine and sped off.

"Oh it's on." Lucas put on his helmet and started his engine up again.

Nathan made sure he felt the necklace around his neck and the diamond ring that hung from it before starting his engine up again and joining them.

For the rest of the day, they rode around the park. They raced each other on occasion and rode the ATV's around the national park, seeing sites that would take them forever to walk to on foot.

Things after that were less tense. Dan was happy that both Lucas and Nathan were in a better mood and they had all enjoyed riding the ATV. Dan once again prepared dinner and cooked the fish that they caught earlier in the day. The conversation was light, mostly talking about the day and who really beat who when they were racing. They retired to bed and Dan stayed awake while he once again heard both boys arguing in their tent before they both drifted to sleep.

. . . . .

The next day the three Scotts were once again by the zip line. Dan insisted that Nathan and Lucas try it at least once before they left. They did and both enjoyed themselves going down through the trees. Afterwards, they hiked for a little bit before going back to camp and packing up. Dan was happy to see that the comfortable setting they had last night continued with this morning.

The ride was mostly in silence but this time both boys didn't sleep, just stared outside the window. While neither of them wanted to admit it at the time, they did have some semblance of fun during the weekend. But coming back to Tree Hill, reality once hit them and as they unloaded their stuff from Dan's car, a small part of them was actually sad to see the weekend end. The part of them that would forever be that little boy who wanted nothing more than the love and attention only a father can give.

. . . .

"I think that's it Dad." Nathan grabbed his book bag and closed the trunk to Dan's SUV.

Dan grabbed a manila envelope from the glove compartment and held it out to Nathan.

"I think you'll find that everything is in order." Dan commented as Nathan took the envelope from him to reveal the documents needed to release the lien on Haley's house. "You almost looked shocked." Dan said.

"Well, I didn't think it would be this easy." Nathan stuffed the papers back in the envelope.

"Well a deal's a deal."

Nathan nodded and took a step back. "I guess this is it .. tha.. thanks for this." Nathan held the envelope up.

Dan took a deep breath. This was it, now or never.

"Look son, I'm sorry. This goes for you too Lucas."

Both brothers looked away, not wanting to hear another one of Dan's apologies.

"You were both right, I am dying and I know it was far fetched but I was hoping that this weekend would bring us closer .. as a family." Dan chuckled, even to him it sounded funny. "I was hoping it did, maybe if even it was for one moment, one second." Dan paused.

"You're my sons and I failed you." Dan took a step closer as Nathan and Lucas stayed rooted at their spots. "I'm sorry for that and for so many other things but I'm proud that each of you have become the kind of man that I can never be. You're good men and you're good brothers." Dan took another deep breath.

"I was so afraid that I've hurt you both so much that you wouldn't see that but after this weekend I'm glad that's not the case. You two are so much more stronger together than apart.. even if it's against me." Dan looked down. "I know you two don't need me and I know that my burden to bear, not your's. But you two need each other. Don't ever forget that. Don't let the world change that."

Dan's hands trembled a little bit at his next words. "I can stand here and apologize all day but what I have to say, I am truly sorry for."

Lucas and Nathan eyed each other and then looked at Dan carefully.

"I have a bad heart and I thought years of not eating properly was to blame and the doctors thought so too but it turns out that I've always been sick. I've been sick all my life and I never knew it."

"What're you talking about Dad?" Nathan spoke up.

"I have a heart condition, Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, otherwise known as HCM. I already left word with Keith for him to get tested."

"Why does Keith need to get tested?" Lucas' voice trembled a bit. Both him and Nathan's heart rate sped up their palms ran ice cold. Nathan and Lucas eyed each other worriedly. Both of them praying that they were both wrong with what Dan was about to say.

"Because it's genetic… and there's a fifty percent chance that I passed it on to both of you." Then Dan turned to face Nathan. "And that you can pass it on to your own children."

To Be Continued . . . .


	21. Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said

The Search for Something More

Chapter 21 - Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said the Last Time I Saw You

Sorry for the delay but man this was a long chapter. I just can't stop gushing about the premiere, I loved the Naley obviously. My God, EVERY scene was gold and too many lines to talk about and gosh I can go on about them. I loved Brooke in there too and the intro and the references to Lucas. :Sigh: I mean the only negative thing I can pick on was the showing the last scenes in the season 7 finale and how the first 20-30 min seemed to lag but I mean I felt like every scene we got with naley was quality, like I said too many too count, I can go on with them. With the great Naley we got, I just had to do a one shot, "Lady Rabbit Sex." To those who sent me love regarding that story, thank you so much, I'm glad you liked it and I enjoyed writing it. If you haven't read it, please do.

Anyways, I am finishing up this chapter while in Wilmington. I actually wrote part of it in the original Karen's cafe in the premiere. I got to see many of the filming sites and tour the set and I met the actors playing Julian, Mouth and Chase. I'll do a little recap of my trip below. This story is closing in on the ending. The amount of chapters left is still unknown but I'm not beating around the bush any more and just going balls out in this story, as you can tell by the long chapters. Like I said, this chapter is massive and I tried my best to correct any spelling/grammar so please excuse any I missed.

Enjoy and please review! Again your reviews mean everything to me so please let me know if you're still reading ! lol. Enjoy !

* * *

"Brooke, why are you dragging me here?" Haley complained as her two friends flanked her and directed her through the streets of Tree Hill.

"Because." Brooke replied matter of factly.

"That's Brooke way of saying that you need new clothes." Peyton added.

"Not just any clothes, hot semi slutty lingerie." Brooke's eyes sparkled. "Now that the doc gave you the greenlight, we need to do what we can."

Haley knew it was a bad idea letting them go with her to see her doctor. What was worst was that they nagged her for hours about what the doctor had to say. Haley didn't want to tell them but they finally forced it out of her. Brooke insisted that they go for a shopping trip. Haley wondered why she let these two drag her into these things.

"Brooke, I'm pregnant!" Haley protested as they entered one of Brooke's favorite lingerie store.

"You're pregnant there, not a nun and we cant have you in those granny panty of your's." Brooke replied.

Peyton snickered. "I hate to admit it but Brooke is right."

"God help me if you two are agreeing on things." Haley mumbled.

. . . . .

Lucas and Nathan stood outside for the longest time, long after Dan Scott had driven away and dropped a bombshell on them.

"What're we going to do?" Nathan turned to his brother.

"Shit." Lucas shook his head. "We have to get tested." Lucas replied a second later.

"Fuck." Nathan clenched his fist. "What about the baby?"

"I know."

"Haley's going to freak." Nathan started to panic.

"Just wait a second." Lucas put his hands up. "Let's not jump to conclusions."

"Did you not hear what Dan said? There's a 50 percent chance that we have that hyper whatever disease he has."

"Exactly, 50 percent, which means there's a fifty percent chance that we don't have it. We can't rush to conclusions."

"Shit, Luke, what am I going to tell Haley?"

Lucas thought for a moment. "We don't have to tell her anything.. at least not yet."

"What're you talking about?"

"Let's not worry Haley until there's something to actually worry about."

"But Luke."

"Nate, you weren't there when she found out her mom was sick. She was devastated. Imagine how she would react now. I don't want to leave her in the dark but its not about her anymore, it's about the baby and I don't want Haley to be stressed any more than she needs to be. "

"You're.. you're right." Nathan nodded.

"But we still need to get tested and the baby." Nathan added.

"Yeah, but I think we're good with the baby." Lucas started to reason.

"What're you talking about?"

"When Dan was born, when we were born, they didn't do as many tests on the fetus as they do today. You know all those check ups at the doctor's, they do more than measure the size of the baby, they look for all sorts of disease."

"And if the baby has the same disease as Dan, they would've caught it already?"

"Exactly but we need to talk to your doctor.."

"Shit it's Sunday too, the office is closed."

"Then call first thing in the morning."

"And what about us? We can have this disease our whole lives and not even know it."

"Look, we'll get tested and take it from there." Lucas tried to stay calm as the two came up with a battle plan. Lucas was actually glad Nathan was here. If he was by himself, he would've been freaking out. Call it the big brother instinct in him because it was easier for him to worry about his little brother than it was about him at the moment.

"Of all the things Dan can say to us." Nathan muttered and shook his head.

"I know." Lucas replied softly.

Nathan looked down on the ground, his hands a little shaky, thinking about the magnitude this latest news can cause. Growing up, he had no fear. Even getting thrown out of the window, he managed to stay strong but this was different. This wasn't about him anymore, this was about his family, the family than he and Haley were creating. This time, Nathan Scott had everything to lose.

"I'm.. I'm scared." Nathan softly admitted.

"Me too." Lucas let out a shaky breath. "Me too."

. . . . . .

"Brooke, I'm not buying that." Haley looked at the barely there nightgown.

"Who says it's for you?" Brooke winked and tossed it into her own pile.

"What do you think of this?" Peyton stepped out of the dressing room wearing a leopard print top.

"Raaawwr!" Brooke gave her best cat call. "I must say P. Sawyer, you look almost as hot as me."

"Yeah, I do look pretty hot." Peyton surveyed herself in the mirror. "Jake is going to flip."

"He's going to be doing more than that." Brooke snickered.

"You guys are so bad." Haley laughed as she surveyed a nearby rack.

"No way Haley James, put down that." Brooke demanded.

"What?"

"Yeah Hales, put down the robe." Peyton added.

"What, it's cute?"

"So are the other two robes you picked out." Brooke pointed out. "But then again, if you're not going to be wearing anything underneath the robe."

"Brooke, I don't feel comfortable in those skimpy outfits and remember what the doctor told me, I need to feel comfortable." Haley pointed out.

"She has a point." Peyton turned to Brooke.

"I didn't say you needed to be skimpy, just sexy." Brooke tapped her finger on her lips and started walking through the racks.

"Voila, how about this?" Brooke held the garment up.

"That's actually cute." Haley took it from her hands and held it up against her. It was baby blue silk baby doll dress that went just above the knees. The top was loose, which was good considering her baby belly. Haley then went to look at the price tag.

"Take it back."

"What? I thought you said it was cute." Brooke asked.

"Did you see the price?"

Brooke flipped the tag over to see. "It's only $300.00."

"Only $300.00!"

"Oh Hales, it's not like you can afford it."

"Did you miss the part where Nathan and Lucas are camping with Dan just so they can give me my house back?"

Brooke took the baby doll dress and placed in Haley's pile. "You know what I mean. I'm sure Nathan can afford it."

"I'm sure he can but I can't." Haley took the garment back.

"Oh I see where this going." Peyton added in. "Her and Nathan haven't had the talk."

"What talk?" Haley asked.

"Hales, I know you and Nathan said you were taking things slow but I mean, you guys have been spending all your time together, I know Nathan is taking care of all the medical bills."

"Guys, Nathan is not my sugar daddy. You know my sister Taylor congratulated me on the baby."

"Umm.. okay?" Brooke looked at Haley curiously.

"She said congratulations on getting knocked up by an NBA star and then she asked me to borrow a hundred bucks." Haley deadpanned.

Brooke and Peyton couldn't help but laugh.

"It's not funny." Haley sighed. "Look guys, you are right. Nathan and I said we would take things slow and in some ways we are. I mean we haven't even been intimate with each other since, well you know." Haley looked down at her belly. "But we're also constantly together, whether I'm at his place or mine. I mean we're practically living together and I know we're serious but I don't know just how serious.. if that makes any sense." Haley took a deep breath. "And the whole thing with the baby too, it just complicates things. I mean I'm in no position to afford this baby on my own. Shoot I can barely afford supporting me."

"Hales, you've had a lot of things happen and it's not your fault you couldn't finish school." Peyton replied. "But Hales, take it from me. Jake and I still do this dance around Jenny."

"What do you mean?" Haley asked.

Peyton paused. Ever since Nathan came back into Haley's life, she had let Brooke do most of the talking. She never really gave her two cents to Haley but she figured her friend can use the guidance, especially now. In the end, all she wanted was for Haley to be happy with or with out Nathan. "Well Jake and I are serious and I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life with him but neither of us are ready for marriage. Yet we have Jenny to consider and I would love to be her mom but at the same time I'm not.. well not yet so it does get complicated because it's one thing for me and Jake to get lost in each other but its another thing to have Jenny think of me as her mom when it's not guaranteed that Jake and I will be together. Jake and I are both getting settled into our careers and for all you know, I might get shipped out to New York or LA and I can't expect Jake and Jenny to follow me."

"Yeah but you and Jake have been going out for like forever."

"My point exactly but I don't think either of us are ready for the next step, at least not now. I see the dance you and Nathan are doing as well. Have you guys even talked about the future .. and not about the baby but as in you two."

Haley looked down.

"I thought so. But let me ask you this, take away the pregnancy, do you see a future with Nathan?"

"Yes." Haley nodded with confidence. "And you're right, Nathan and I have avoided some of the heavy topics. I mean we haven't even discussed what'll happen after the baby is born. I mean Nathan has the crib set up at his place, does that mean I'm moving in. Does he want me to move in? What about the Seattle? I just.. I just don't know."

"Hales, Nathan might be totally clueless but that boy loves you. As much as I hate what he did to you, I can even see that." Brooke added.

"I .. I just wish we didn't have to face all these things so soon." Haley rubbed her belly and knew that time was something she didn't have.

"Well you and Nathan need to discuss things." Brooke replied. "Well at least after you get laid." Brooke snatched the baby doll dress and dropped it into her pile.

"Brooke, what're you doing?"

"Think of it as a present from me. I mean P. Sawyer isn't going back home for a few days and Nathan comes back tonight, one of us at least deserves to get laid."

"But isn't Lucas coming back too?"

"Like I said at least Haley will get laid." Brooke quickly replied.

"Wait, hold up Brooke. I thought you and Lucas were.." Peyton was about to say more before Brooke interrupted her.

"NO, we are not. And before you say anything more, I'm not even sure if I want it. I mean, I think Luke is great. But we're not in high school any more."

"Well Nathan and I aren't either." Haley added. "Look, I know you had a rough patch with Lucas and believe when I say that I can relate but at the same time, it can turn out to be really great. I may not have thought this was how I was going to end up but I'm grateful for it regardless."

Brooke smiled and gave Haley a hug. "Thanks tutor.. mom.. but me and Lucas aren't epic like you and Nathan."

"First, Nathan and I aren't epic." Haley held her hand up, seeing that Brooke was about to protest. "And even if we are, that doesn't mean you and Lucas can't be."

"Well, what if I don't want to. I like Lucas, I do.. and we've had our flirty moments but look at what P. Sawyer just talked about with her and Jake. I'm trying to set up my business too and right now that's number one. I don't think I'm ready for a serious relationship.. with anyone." Brooke added.

"Fair enough." Peyton chimed. "That doesn't mean you still can't get some." Peyton teased as she smacked Brooke in the ass.

Haley shook her head. "You two are horrible."

. . . . . .

Haley looked at her reflection in the mirror as she pulled her hair up. She glanced through the bathroom doors and found Nathan with the same dazed look he had all night. When she arrived at Nathan's, he and Lucas were already back. She was happy to get her house back, but she was also worried about what the weekend has done to them. She didn't want to push either of them, she knew how difficult this weekend must've been on both of them. Still, Nathan had been very quiet all night and Haley debated whether or not to breach the topic.

She decided it could wait and slipped into bed and joined Nathan. However, after an hour, Haley was still wide awake. Even though Nathan was right next to her, she felt like he was a million miles away.

"Ok, what is it?" Haley turned around to face him.

"Huh?" Nathan asked, taking his eyes away from the ceiling. The ceiling that has somehow captivated him ever since he laid down.

"You're thinking too loud, how can I sleep?" Haley smiled and rubbed her thumb against Nathan's cheek.

"How do you know even something was wrong? You had your eyes closed this whole time."

"You think I need eyes to know when something is bother you." Haley pointed out. "Plus you've been silent and brooding all night."

"I was not brooding."

"Yes, you were. Dye your hair blond and I would call you Lucas."

"Hey, I take offense to that." Nathan pouted.

Haley giggled. "Now, why can't you go to sleep?" She ran her hand through his head.

".. . ."

"I know this weekend must've been hard for you and Lucas. Thank you for doing this for me."

"Not like you need to thank me but you're welcome." Nathan leaned over and kissed Haley on the lips. "And you are right, this weekend was .. difficult." Nathan said carefully.

"Dan that bad?"

Nathan shook his head. "No actually, which I guess is part of it."

"What do you mean?" Haley asked confused.

"There was moment on the trip where we forgot all about all the crap Dan put us through and it was like a glimpse into what could've been. And then now is Dan is dying and.." Nathan sighed. "I don't know if it makes much sense." Nathan was worried sick over the health of their baby but knew that this wasn't the time to talk to Haley about it.

"It's okay Nathan, I can only imagine how hard this is for you."

"Look, would you hold it against me if I said I don't feel like talking about it?"

"No, but remember I'm here if you need help."

Nathan wrapped his free around Haley and pulled her close to him. "You're already helping." He kissed the side of her temple.

"Now, I feel like a complete jerk. I didn't ask you how your weekend was? Did you have fun with Brooke?"

"You can say that."

"Uh oh, what happened?"

"Peyton also came."

"Oh what did the terrible twosome do to you now?" Nathan laughed and Haley was happy to see Nathan in a better mood.

"Oh nothing but.." Haley paused.

"But what?"

"Umm.. next time we see Doctor Anderson and if he gives you a funny look. It's all my fault."

"Huh?"

"I went to see him yesterday and.."

"What? Is everything okay?" Nathan said panicked.

"Yes." Haley quickly answered. It was cute how over protective he was. "I just had a personal question.. well I got too personal."

"I don't get it."

"I went to ask him about sex."

"But we are having a boy." Nathan misheard her.

"Not that sex.. sex sex."

"You went to see our doctor for sex!"

"No!" Haley said frustrated. "I asked him about sex between you and me sex. To see if I'm healthy enough for it."

"Oh." Nathan's eyes went wide. He wasn't expecting that but not like he was complaining at the moment.

"And I may have let it slip that I was worried about the safety of the baby cuz you've got a you know." Haley waved her hand about. "And I didn't want to you to poke the baby." Haley was fuming red at this point but at the same time, she couldn't help but not laugh at the situation.

"What?" Nathan was confused. "I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing."

"I know, I'm horrible but good news, you won't hurt the baby."

Nathan smirked. "Even with my humongous …"

"Uhh.." Haley interrupted and groaned. "I knew I shouldn't have to told you."

Nathan laughed. "Come here." He pulled her close to him again. "So you're really thinking about having sex?"

"Yes." She admitted in a low voice. "I mean haven't you?"

"You do know that when we wake up in the mornings that it isn't the remote that's between us right?" Nathan grinned and then he became more serious. "But I didn't want to push it .. or push you. We said we would take it slow."

"Haha.. slow.. We've done a good job at doing that huh?" Haley deadpanned.

"What do you mean?"

"We're taking it slow but we're together constantly. Aside from this weekend, we've been together, not that I'm complaining or anything but at the same time, there's still some things we haven't talked about.. or cleared up."

"Like what?"

"The baby.. us.. us and the baby."

"Well we can talk about that now if you want. I have a feeling both of us have been avoiding it because we are quote unquote taking it slow."

Haley nodded and took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"What're we going to do about the baby? Is he going to stay here or my house? Both."

"What do you want?"

"I don't know." Haley admitted. "How about you?"

"Well I want the baby to stay here. I want you to stay here."

"You want me to move in with you?"

"Yes, of course I do but I don't want to push you into it. I'll move in with you if that's what you want. You asked me how I feel and that's the truth. I don't want you to think I'm pressuring you into moving in with me because that is the last thing I'd ever want."

"But this is your house."

"Our house." Nathan clarified.

"Nathan, you know what I'm talking about."

"If you want, I can sign half of it to you." Nathan took a deep breath. "Like I said Hales, if you want to, the offer stands but if you feel that's it's too much too soon then I won't hold it against you. I love you and I want you to be with me because you want to be not because of what I want."

"I don't feel like you're not pressuring into anything. You've haven't and I thank you for that." Haley paused. She had a feeling Nathan wanted her to move in with him but it was good to know for sure. Part of her was still hesitant and another part of her was saying to go ahead and do it. She had missed him so much over the weekend.

"If I haven't told you lately, I love you Nathan Scott.. I'm in love with you." She caressed his cheek. "It's nice after all this time."

"It's everything after all this time." Nathan said softly and looked into her eyes and any shadow of doubt in Haley got swept away.

"I want to move in." Haley said softly.

"You what?" Nathan wasn't sure if he was hearing things. This was too good to be true.

"I want to move in with you." Haley spoke louder.

"You will?" Nathan's eyes lit up.

Haley nodded, unable to hold back her smile. "Yes.. yes I will. But maybe we don't have to move all my stuff so soon… besides we need to make space in the closet." She teased.

"There's plenty of space in the closet."

"Oh please, you have as much clothes as Brooke."

"First you compare me to Luke now Brooke. You wound me Haley James." Nathan mocked.

"Well get used to it cuz I'm going to be around more."

Nathan laughed. "Good!"

"And when you go back to Seattle, we can work something out too." Haley replied. That was another thing that was worrying her and this was as good of a time to bring it up as any.

"About that." Nathan cleared his throat. "I'm trying to transfer?"

"Transfer?"

"Yes, some place closer.. Charlotte actually."

"Really?" Haley's eyes went wide.

"Yes, really."

"But.."

"No but's Hales. This is something I've been thinking about for a long time and it makes sense. Tree Hill is home and you have family in the area, your friends.. plus Lucas is here."

"Wow, I don't know what to say."

"Say that you're happy about it." Nathan bit his lip.

"No, I am I just.. I know this is a big thing. Didn't you win the championship with Seattle? I just don't want you to do something you'll regret."

"I told you before Haley, I choose basketball over you before. I won't make the same mistake again. Besides, I like being back home. I love being with you and as much as Lucas is a pain in my side, I want to be near him too. This weekend showed me how much I've missed out .. with Lucas.. with my dad.. I don't want that with us or our son."

Haley was so overcome, she couldn't trust herself to speak. Instead, she did the only think she can think of. She kissed him. And he kissed back. Her hands raked over the skin of his bare chest and stomach, before reaching down to the hem of his boxers. Tugging at it to indicate that she wanted it off, Nathan pulled away from her and looked deeply into her brown eyes.

"Are you sure?" He said softly.

Haley nodded as she reached for the hem of her shirt and slowly lifted it up. Once she removed her shirt, she was left only in her boy shorts and bra. Once she felt the cool air hit her skin, she suddenly realized how naked she was and how big she must look to him. Instinctively, she covered her torso with her hands.

"I know I must look like a whale."

Nathan shook his head. "You're beautiful… absolutely stunning." He leaned in and kissed her and wrapped his hands around her back and unhooked her bra. He pulled back to just stare at her, his mouth dry and eyes filled nothing but love and adoration. Haley smiled back and the way Nathan was looking at her had her filled with a new sense of confidence. She felt sexy but most of all loved.

Their lips locked once more and Nathan shifted a bit to pull down his boxers. His flesh, already hard as rock, pressed up against her belly, making Haley's temperature rise. Nathan reached towards her own shorts and slowly pulled them off.

"Umm.. how do you want to do this?" He asked, not really sure how to position themselves.

"Lean back." Haley pushed his shoulders so now he was leaning against the headboard. She straddled herself on top of him. His hands wrapped around his waist and slowly guided her over him.

"Ahh.." She moaned out as their bodies rocked in slow movements. Nathan was careful not wanting to hurt Haley or the baby.

"Faster." She gasped as she gripped his shoulders and rocked her body harder against his. Nathan rocked his hips harder, going along with Haley's pace. When Nathan moved his lips from hers down her neck and onto her breasts, she nearly lost it and rocked her body harder against his. Nathan pulled back and their lips locked once more and after a couple of minutes, their bodies both exploded in pleasure.

Haley collapsed onto Nathan and he held her and their baby as if they were the most precious thing in the world. They stayed in each other's embrace for a while, basking in the after glow.

"How do you feel?" Nathan asked softly.

"I feel amazing." She whispered against his neck. "I feel loved.. I feel like your's." Haley sighed contently. "It feels good." She nuzzled against his neck and started to drift off to sleep.

"It does feel good." Nathan agreed and held her close.

. . . .

The next morning Haley felt the bed shift and her body reacted to the feel of Nathan not close to her.

"Where you going?" She said sleepy eyed.

"Going to brew some coffee. Stay here and rest. I'll bring you up some breakfast." Nathan whispered over to her and kissed her forehead.

Haley just sighed in content. "Hmm.. sounds wonderful."

Nathan smiled and reached down to grab his boxers and his cell phone. He went downstairs to the kitchen started to brew himself a cup of coffee. He also took out some eggs and fruit he had in the fridge. Grabbing his phone, he stepped outside to get some privacy.

"Hello, Dr. Anderson, thank you for taking my call." Nathan was glad the office was open already.

"Nathan, what can I do for you?"

"I have a question about the baby."

"Okay."

"The tests, you guys run. Do you check for genetic defects?"

"Generally speaking yes we do."

"How about heart defects?"

"There's a lot of heart defects that can occur with the fetus. Based off test results and your and Haley's history, your baby is as healthy as can be."

"Look doc, I just found out something. There is a history of HCM in my family and I'm worried about my son."

"Hmm.. hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the thickening of the myocardium from a genetic defect. The tests performed on your baby would have found any thickening of the myocardium." Dr. Anderson pulled up Haley and Nathan's file. "I'm looking over the past sonograms and as far as I can see everything looks normal."

"Thank God."

"Now, Nathan, HCM is a serious thing and while I am confident your baby does not have it. We should still double check on your next appointment, now that we know what we need to look for. The blood tests would've picked up any mutations that would lead to HCM but we should do it again just to be clear." The doctor switched his phone to the other ear. "Now, I assume you are going to get tested."

"Yes, I will but I'm just worried about the baby."

"When you guys come in this week for your next check up, we can do an extra blood sample and send it to a cardiologist just to cover all our basis."

"Thank you doctor but Haley doesn't know this. I want to tell her myself and I don't want her to worry about something that we don't know for sure."

"Normally, I would not agree but given the circumstances, I know how worrisome Haley can be and that sort of stress is not good for her or the baby. I will keep this between us but and we can do the tests without her knowing. She already knows that she will routinely need to go through them anyways but once I get the results back I am legally bound to tell both of you."

"No problem doc. I want to get tested first before telling her."

"Ok Nathan and thanks for calling."

"No, thank you." Nathan sighed in relief and went back inside.

Hearing Haley come down the stairs, Nathan turned to her. "I told you I was going to bring breakfast to you."

"Yeah." Haley rubbed her eyes. "But I had to pee and then my mom called."

"Oh."

"Yeah, about that." Haley leaned over the counter. "Remember, how I told you she's coming home."

"Yeah?"

"Well, she's coming back today."

"Today?"

"Like tonight."

"Wow." Nathan started feeling a little nervous.

"Don't worry hun. You'll be fine."

"Yeah but to her I'm probably still known as the heart breaker who knocked up her daughter."

"Yeah about that.. umm.. if anything, just remind her, you got her house back."

"Dammit." Nathan sighed.

. . . . . . .

Nathan left Haley's room with another box full of her items. He dropped it off to his car and then pulled out his cell phone. He was so happy that Haley had decided to move in with him. Thrilled actually. He was so glad they finally talked through some of the issues bothering him and glad that she told him about Charlotte. He would've liked it if it was a done deal already but he was still waiting for it. It all felt surreal. As happy as he was, there was still a lingering cloud over head.

He dialed Lucas' number and groaned out in frustration when it was Lucas' voicemail. He hated voicemail but with Lucas not replying to his calls or texts, he figured he'd leave a message this time.

"Luke man, give me a call, I found a place for us to get tested. Call me back so we can schedule."

Hanging up, he made his way upstairs back to Haley's room.

"Do you want this in the car?" Nathan asked, picking up a black shopping back.

"No!" Haley quickly went over and snatched it from him. "I can bring it."

"Why?" Nathan looked curiously. "What's in the bag?"

"A surprise." Haley said coyly.

"What kind of surprise?"

"Well, lets just say Brooke and Peyton took me shopping?"

"Really?" Nathan raised an eyebrow.

"And if you're behaved, I might just wear it for you." Haley smirked.

"What if I've been bad?" Nathan pulled her close to him and groped her but.

"Behave mister!" Haley pointed her finger at him. "Besides my mom should be.."

DING DONG

"Oh she's here!" Haley clapped excitedly and quickly left the room and went downstairs to open the door.

Nathan heard Haley squeal from upstairs as mother and daughter reunited. Taking a deep breath, Nathan started to descend the stairs.

From the corner of her eye, Lydia saw Nathan coming down. She pulled back from her daughter to face Nathan.

"Nathan." Lydia commented.

"Mrs. James." Nathan put on a smile. "Welcome back home."

"Yes.. a home that I didn't know I almost lost." Lydia turned to Haley. "But it seems I have you to thank."

"It wasn't a big deal." Nathan shifted from his spot.

"I have dinner waiting for us." Haley announced, wanting to break up the tension. "Come on mom, I want to hear all about Matt and I want to see pictures of the kids."

Nathan sent her a thankful look and followed them.

. . . . . .

Nathan stayed quiet for most of the dinner, letting Haley and Lydia do all the talking. They gushed over the pictures Lydia had taken of Haley's brother and his family. They also talked about Haley's own pregnancy and Nathan was relieved that Lydia was excited to be a grandmother again.

After dinner, Nathan offered to clean up while Haley helped her mom get settled back into her room.

"Thanks for doing the dishes." Lydia called out.

"No problem." Nathan said over the sink. "Where's Haley?"

"She's feeling a little tired so she's taking a nap."

"Oh."

Nathan continued washing the dishes as he saw Lydia take out the kettle. "Would you like some tea Nathan?"

"Yeah, sure." Nathan replied. He figured this was as good of a time to talk to Lydia and he had a feeling she wanted to talk to him.

Nathan put the last dishes away and turned around to find Lydia sitting on the table with two mugs in front of her. She motioned for him to join her and he sat down across from her.

"So I passed by Haley's room. It's full of boxes."

"Yes. She's going to move in with me."

"Are you sure that's a wise move?" Lydia questioned.

"Yes." Nathan replied. "Look Mrs. James, I know you must hate me.. shoot I hate myself for what I did to your daughter. I'm sorry for what I did. There's no excuses but I love your daughter and for some reason she loves me. She's going to be an amazing mom and I'm the lucky one that gets to be the father."

"You know Nathan when I first met you, I had a really good feeling about you. Sure, I've heard about your reputation but there was just something about you and I saw the way my daughter would light up around you. When you left, it was hard for her. My heart broke for her. She's been through so much Nathan."

"I know. And I promise you Mrs. James that I won't make the same mistakes."

"I know you have good intentions Nathan but please don't make promises you can not keep."

"I'm not." He said resolutely. "I made mistakes and I'm doing my best to make up for it."

"I know you are Nathan." Lydia leaned back and sighed. "It would be so easy to hate you but seeing my daughter come alive these past few months, I know it's because of you and the baby. At the end of the day, if you make my daughter happy then, what else can I hope for?" Lydia took a sip of her tea.

"Thank you Mrs. James."

"Ahh.. please call me Lydia.. I know I'm old, I don't need to feel it."

"Okay Lydia." Nathan laughed. "There is something you should know, something I wanted to tell you."

"What is it?"

Nathan reached behind his neck and unclasped his necklace, around it was a diamond ring. He took the ring out and slid it towards Lydia. Lydia didn't look surprised but she did have a curious look on her face.

"You know for a NBA star, I would've thought you would spring more for the rock." Lydia commented.

"I was thinking of changing the rock out before asking her."

"And when would that be?"

"I don't know." Nathan replied honestly. "I wanted you to know where I stand and what my intentions are with Haley and even if there wasn't a baby, I would still be coming to you with this."

Nathan took a deep breath. "The truth is, I've been carrying that ring with me for years. Even in my darkest hours, I could never get rid of it because when I saw it, I can only see it on Haley's finger." Nathan paused. "I'm in love with your daughter, Lydia. I've been in love with her since I was 16 and at 17 I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her but at 18, something went wrong and I let her go for all the wrong reasons. Now that we're together again, I .. I don't want to make the same mistakes. I don't want to waste any more time. Haley is it for me and I am hoping for your blessing."

"What if I say no?"

"Then I'm sorry you don't trust me. But I want to spend my life with Haley if she will have me."

"Don't you think this is a little too soon?"

"It's never to soon to be in love." Nathan replied which elicited a smile from Lydia. "But I don't know when or how, I just know that one day, I will go down on one knee and ask her."

Lydia laughed. "Oh lord, if Jimmy was here right now."

"I know, I'd probably be a dead man."

"You probably would be." Lydia smiled. "Look Nathan, I appreciate the gesture but you don't need my blessing. It's Haley's decision to make." Lydia took a deep breath. "And I will support her in whatever she decides to do. I'm not getting any older Nathan and my cancer might still return. I don't have the luxury of time. I look back and I've lived a wonderful life and I miss my Jimmy so much. If I go now, at least I can look back with a smile. I want that for Haley. I want that lifetime of happiness that Jimmy gave to me. And while it's so easy for me to turn you away, I can't because I know my daughter.. I know she loves you. You know, I remember when Jimmy asked my parents blessing, oh they were livid. They thought we were too young and that he wasn't worthy of me. Ever after giving them 6 grandkids, they never fully accepted Jimmy as my husband. I loved my parents to death but it hurt. I don't want to do the same thing to my daughter Nathan. As much as she's my baby girl, she's probably the wisest out of all of us. I trust in her."

"Thank you Lydia, you don't know how much that means to me."

"Like I said Nathan, I'm in remission now but that can all change in a blink of an eye and I need you to promise me.. promise me that if you are serious about this that you will take care of my baby girl. She's my last one." Lydia said with tears in her eyes.

"I promise." Nathan replied without any shed of doubt. "I promise that I will always love her. I will always protect her." Nathan swore.

To Be Continued . . . . .

Like I said, I am currently updating this story while in Wilmington. It's a trip I've been meaning to go on and now that I am here, I wonder why I never came sooner. It will most likely be the last season and it was good to come here and visit the sights while the show is still going on. I don't think it would mean as much if it wasn't. Either way, it's been an emotional trip esp after seeing the premiere and all the sights. I mean, they have been filming here for SEVEN years now, if the show extends into 2011 then that would be eight. It's absolutely amazing that the show has lasted this long and that my passion and love for the show only keeps on growing. I've also met a few fans. I don't think I'll get to see the cast actually filming which is my main goal. However, I did meet Austin and lee who were so nice. I also met Stephen briefly. I was able to get my picture with Austin and Lee. I def. felt a little dazed when I saw them and didn't know what to say at first. The meeting was short but they were very nice. If that's all that I get from this trip, in terms of meeting people from the show, then mission success. I would've liked to have met James, Joy and Sophia of course but we'll see. I figure that can be a second shorter trip when I know for sure they are filming on location. Like I said, I've been beating myself around the bush for not coming sooner and so if I know they are filming for sure then my but is coming down here ASAP. The good thing is that I got the lay of the land and saw many of the filming sites both old and. I really felt like Tree Hill came alive during this trip. I also toured the set and went into Naley's house, both the living spaces, naley's bedroom, spare bedroom and jamie's room. I also went to Tric, Mouth's apartment and Brooke's house. I also talked to some staff who gave some insightful knowledge. Seeing the river court in person as well as the market street docks and just a ton of sits, :sigh:. I can go on but my trip to Wilmington is not quite over yet. I'll probably post a more detailed account of my trip later when I am back home. But it's definitely a very bitter sweet feeling I have right now. The season has only started and I feel like I am already losing a friend. I may have watched the show from season 1 on and off but I never really got into it until the season 4 dvd came out in late 2007. I remember one weekend watching the whole series from season 1-4 and although I watched many of the episodes previously, but seeing it then, it was like watching it for the first time and the rest as you can say is history. So while the show has been on for 8 seasons, I feel as if it's much shorter than that and like I said, I wished I came sooner, esp since for the past few years, I lived somewhat close to Wilmington, now I'm much farther away and of course I would've loved it to have come while CMM and HB were still on the show. Anyways, thanks for listening to my rant and reading this story.


	22. Pictures of You

Chapter 22 – Pictures of You

I had an idea of what I wanted this chapter to be and then for some reason, something completely different took over, lol. I also anticipated a shorter chapter too but for some reasons, it just kept going on for pages and pages lol. Now there is a relationship in this chapter that I barely write about but for some reason, it worked and I hope you like it too. It's also been a while since I've had any flashbacks. At the beginning of the story, those flashbacks were more important but as the story progressed, I thought it better to focus in on the present since a lot of the exposition has already taken place. But this flashback will definitely help set up for this chapter as well as next chapter. Just a reminder that I did use most of season 1 as the general background for this story. Obviously they didn't get married and season 2 onward never happened. Enjoy and please review.

* * *

_Nathan closed his locker shut and nearly did a double take when he saw Brooke after he closed the metal door._

"_Oh it's you." Nathan remarked dryly._

"_No, good morning Brooke." Brooke teased._

"_Morning Brooke." Nathan rolled his eyes. He figured that playing her little game would make her go away faster. _

"_And no thank you.. why Nathan I'm hurt." Brooke feigned being hurt and placed a hand over her heart. "Not after everything I've done for you and Haley."_

"_Whatever Brooke. You're the one that made her think I passed that note around at the party." Nathan started walking away._

"_While that might be true." Brooke followed him. "I did make up for it."_

"_Whatever." Nathan mumbled._

"_And judging by the way I saw you grab Haley this morning and practically pounced on her inside Mr. Fisher's empty class room, I'd say the date was a success." Brooke smirked._

_Nathan normally didn't get embarrassed but right now he was feeling a little red. Normally, he wouldn't care who saw him making out with who but the fact that it was Haley was .. different. Sure he could've made out with her in the hallway but that's not how Haley operates and he likes that. She's not with him because he's a basketball god or popular. She likes him for him, which was different but also nice. He pulled her alone for a reason, to be alone. If their disastrous dinner was any indication, it's much easier when it's just the two of them. Besides, he knew that putting Haley in the spot light like that would probably make her feel a little uncomfortable. It was bad enough that everyone was speculating about them. The popular jock and the innocent tutor had scandalous written all over it._

_He knew that people would find out about their relationship.. or whatever it is they were doing. They never parted their lips long enough to actually discuss what they actually were but regardless. People will find out but until them, but it's not like he was ashamed of her, far from it but he had enough to deal with. There was his Dad, basketball and the upcoming game with Cove City. Plus everyone would be staring at him and Haley, especially all the guys. They had their chance with her now she was his, or will be his once they finally have a proper conversation about their relationship. He only knew Haley a short time but she was doing something to him, something he never felt before. _

"_Actually, the date was a disaster."_

"_What?" Brooke questioned. "How can that be? I planned that personally and hey I even threw in a shopping trip to the lingerie store just for you!" _

"_Well, that part didn't suck .. and you're right thank you for that." Nathan smirked. Seeing Haley's reaction when he gave her that nightgown was priceless, plus all the fantasies he had of her wearing it. _

"_What happened? I mean it must've went well if you two were sucking face this morning." _

"_Actually I messed up. .this time all on my own over dinner. I said.. well did something stupid."_

"_What did you do?"_

"_It doesn't matter." Nathan replied as the images of a hurt Haley flashed in his eyes. He could've believe he was able to hurt her .. twice in two nights. _

"_But I went to her house the next morning and practically begged for her forgiveness."_

"_Well, well, little ol' Haley James has Nathan Scott groveling on hand and foot."_

_Nathan rolled his eyes. "I said practically begged." He corrected. "I said I'm sorry and she forgave me and well yeah."_

"_See, and no love for me. It hurts Nate!" _

"_Whatever Brooke." Nathan shook his head. "I got to go to class."_

"_Look at you, going to class on time. Haley sure must be doing something to you."_

"_No it's you. You that I'm trying to get away from." Nathan quickly muttered and turned the corner to the next hallway. _

_Brooke huffed. "Well, if that's how you are, don't bother asking me for anything.."_

"_Brooke." Nathan scratched his head. "Look thank you."_

"_What?"_

"_I said thank you." Nathan replied. "You were a bitch for starting that shit up at my house but you did make up for it with the date. The date was actually fun until I messed it up but if it wasn't for your meddling me and Haley would probably still be dancing around the fact that we like each other so.. thank you." _

"_Wow, coming from you, it actually sounds genuine."_

"_Don't be so surprised." Nathan replied. "Besides, come to think of it, I need a girl's opinion?"_

"_Huh?"_

"_Look, the date you set up was nice and it's not like Peyton and I did that sort of stuff .. but with Haley I want to do those things.. like go on dates and stuff but we already did the whole dinner thing."_

"_And you need me for? " _

_Nathan couldn't believe this but he had no choice. Haley may forgiven his sorry ass but he definitely wanted to make up for their first failed date. "Our first date ended badly so for our next one I want it to end good .. but I just don't know what to do." _

"_Boys." Brooke rolled her eyes "You guys are really clueless." _

"_Never mind." Nathan mumbled and turned on his heels._

"_You know what, since I'm in a good mood, I'll try to get some intel on what tutor girl likes." _

"_You know she has a real name you know?"_

_Brooke rolled her eyes and Nathan continued to talk. "How're you going to do that?"_

"_Simple, I'm going to talk to Lucas."_

_A week later_

"_So you found anything out?" Nathan walked up to Brooke._

"_Geez, Nathan you scared me." Brooke clutched her chest._

"_Well?" Nathan asked impatiently. _

"_Gosh you're worst than me when I'm shopping."_

"_Oh that's disturbing." Nathan shuddered. "So what you got for me?"_

"_Why don't you ask your girlfriend .. or better yet your brother?" Brooke teased._

"_Brooke." Nathan warned._

"_Fine.. fine. I was just kidding." Brooke replied. "Besides, I still don't know why you need my help. You and Haley seem to be doing. You're the talk of the town."_

"_Look Brooke, we've had nothing but drama the past week, especially after Cove City."_

"_You mean after you collapsed on the gym floor."_

"_Yeah, that." Nathan replied bluntly. That was a night Nathan would care to not relive. Collapsing on the floor, all he saw was Haley, all that he thought about was her. He'd been a jerk to her again and he let basketball take over. But she took him back, her beautiful heart took his sorry back. This girl who can look past all the mistakes, he's done. That night cemented their relationship, took it to a new level. It made Nathan realize that he wasn't falling for Haley James because he already had. _

"_Look, things with Haley and I are really good right now but I just want to do something fun and you remember who my last girlfriend was.. we didn't actually do fun. So please Brooke I'm desperate, I'm even asking you for help."_

"_I don't know whether or not I should be insulted or touched that you'll go so far out of your way to impress Haley."_

"_I'll take the latter, so you have anything for me?"_

"_Nathan seriously, you spent more time with Haley than me. Surely, she must've told you what she likes to do?"_

"_You mean other than work at the café or study." Nathan pointed out._

"_True." Brooke tapped a finger against her lips. "Actually, I was with Lucas last night and he did mention something about him and Haley playing miniature golf."_

"_Miniature golf?" Nathan cocked his head. "That's all you got. Shit, I might as just invite Haley over and rent a movie." _

"_You obviously don't see the big picture." Brooke rolled her eyes. "Think about it, you're putting on the green, seeing how Haley is a klutz, she'll probably lob that golf ball into some poor kids eyes, she gets frustrated, you come up behind and her and teach her how to do the proper stance…" Brooke trailed off._

"_You.. you might be on to something." Nathan was liking the idea even more. Sure he can do the same thing over a game of billiards but he wasn't sure if Haley would be down for that. At least, he knows that she likes miniature golf even though it was something she did with Lucas. But at least if they went, she would think of him instead of Lucas. That in itself was worth it. _

_. . . . ._

"_So where are you taking me to?" Haley turned to face Nathan._

_Nathan gripped the steering wheel harder and tried to keep a straight face. "A surprise."_

"_I hate surprises." Haley huffed. "And clowns." She added. "Wait, you're not taking to a circus are you? Cuz if you are Nathan Scott then I swear.." _

_Nathan started cracking up. "Hales, I'm not taking you to a circus. I don't even know where a circus is."_

"_So where are we going?" _

"_Well, we're right here." _

_Haley looked out the window and clapped her hands excitedly. "Ohh, I love miniature golf." _

"_Good." Nathan smiled and put the car in park. "I thought we'd do something different tonight."_

"_You mean other than making out on my bed." Haley deadpanned. _

"_Well, we can go back to your house if that's what you want?" Nathan wiggled his eyebrows. _

"_No, can we stay? Please please please." Haley gave him those puppy dog eyes and Nathan knew he could never say no to that. _

_Nathan checked his watch. Time seem to have flew by and he hoped they would have enough time to actually play. _

"_Come on, let's go."_

_. . . . ._

"_YES!" Haley threw her hands up and started doing a little victory dance after sinking yet another hole in one._

"_Who are you? And what have you done to my girlfriend?" Nathan eyed her curiously._

"_Oh come on, you big baby, you're just mad because I'm beating you in a sport."_

"_Miniature golf Hales, it's not a sport."_

"_Yes it is, look at what's his name, Tiger Woods. He's always on like ESPN or something." _

"_That's GOLF Hales, this is MINIATURE GOLF." Nathan emphasized._

"_So I'm beating you in a small sport." Haley grinned and leaned up to give Nathan a quick peck on the cheek._

"_That makes no sense and no fair for distracting me with your lips." _

"_Excuses, excuses, now come on, you're only a few strokes behind me."_

"_Whatever." Nathan mumbled and picked up his club and went into position. He gently hit the ball but unfortunately for him, it didn't make it in.. again._

"_Don't worry Nathan, I'm sure you can get it in on the next try." Haley tried to suppress he laughter. _

"_Oh you think you're so…" Nathan started to speak but the PA system cut him off. _

"_ATTENION CUSTOMERS WE'LL BE CLOSING IN FIVE MINUTES. PLEASE DROP OFF ANY EQUIPMENT TO THE FRONT. I REPEAT WE ARE CLOSING IN FIVE MINUTES."._

"_Oh well you look at that. Time to go." Nathan quickly replied and picked up his ball._

"_What? Already?"_

"_Well, you heard the man, we have to get going."_

"_Well, whatever, I still beat you anyway."_

"_Since we technically couldn't finish then no body won." Nathan smirked._

"_Well, good thing I know a place where we can finish?"_

"_Huh?" Nathan eyed her curiously.  
_

_. . . . . _

"_What're we doing here Hales? The café is closed?"_

"_Luckily I have the keys." Haley jingled them in her hands and then proceeded to open the door. "Come on." _

"_Where we going?" Nathan asked as he followed Haley up the stairs. _

"_The secret to my miniature golf skills." She laughed and opened the door and flipped on a switch._

_Suddenly the roof was flooded with Christmas lights and lanterns and Nathan can make out the clear signs of a make shift miniature golf course. _

"_Wow, this is .. impressive." Nathan commented. _

_Haley went to the corner and picked up one of the clubs. "Lucas and I built this place. We were sure Karen would make us tear it down but she actually liked it. She goes up here too sometimes. It's a nice retreat from the madness of it all, you know."_

"_So you and Lucas spent a lot of time up here?"_

_Haley nodded. "I hope you're okay with that because I can't help that I'm Lucas' best friends and we've known each other since we were little kids and .."_

"_Hales." Nathan interrupted her. "It's okay. I.. I like it up here. I can see why you're so good but there is one thing I don't understand."_

"_What?" _

"_I don't understand how you and Lucas can be up here.. always hanging out and not want to do this."_

"_Do what?"_

_As soon as the words left her mouth, Nathan leaned over and kissed her. His tongue sought entrance and she easily granted it. After a few moments their lips finally unlocked and Haley rested her head against Nathan's chest._

"_Well if Lucas ever did that, then that would be weird considering he's like a brother to me." Haley giggled. _

_Nathan chuckled. "I can't believe he never noticed how beautiful and smart and funny you are. He must be gay."_

_Haley laughed despite herself. "He did notice all those things in me, he just never wanted to kiss me.. well.. there was that one time.." _

"_Hey." Nathan protested._

"_What, you're the one bringing it up?"_

"_I'm just saying. There's no way I can be related to the guy, I mean look at you.. how can he not want you?"_

"_Believe it or not, a guy and a girl can be friends and have it remain strictly platonic." Haley pointed out. "But correct me if I am wrong but did you finally acknowledge that you and Lucas are brothers."_

"_I said related."_

_Haley laughed. "Well that's a start, but I'm not sure how I feel knowing that my boyfriend is thinking of my best friend while he kisses me."_

"_You brought him up." Nathan pointed out. _

_Haley laughed. "Look, thank you for cutting him some slack. I know this hasn't been easy on you.. or Lucas."_

"_Or you." Nathan pointed out. "Look Hales, I don't want to see you hurt or upset so if that means putting up with Lucas and playing nice then I'll do it .. for you."_

"_Well maybe one day you'll do it for you."_

"_Doubt it." Nathan replied._

"_Still, it's been nice to see you two not ripping your heads off but I really think that if you two get to know each other, you'll see that he's not the enemy Nathan."_

"_I know he's not. But enough about him. I want to talk about you."_

"_What about me?"_

_Nathan took the golf club from her hand and tossed it aside. "I don't think I'm in the mood for miniature golf." _

"_Afraid I'll kick your ass again."_

"_Well you are at a home court advantage here but.." Nathan grabbed her hands and pulled her close to him. He tucked a stray hair behind her ears and took a moment to look at her, to really look at her. "I just want to do this." Nathan hugged her tight. "The way you look and the way you are.. you amaze me Haley James." Nathan kissed the top of her head._

"_You're pretty amazing too." Haley smiled against his chest, all the whiles butterflies fluttered in her stomach. For the rest of the night they just stood there basking in each other's arms. _

* * *

"You're name?" The security guard asked.

"Brooke Davis."

The security guard checked the list and once he saw her name, he let her pass. "Studio 2, at the end of the hall, make a left 3rd door on the right."

"Thanks." Brooke put on her visitor's pass and proceeded down the hall. The studio wasn't particularly big as was the case with New York production offices but there was still a good twenty people inside.

"And cut!" The director announced. Brooke waited on the sidelines, not sure where she should go.

Nathan wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel and nodded towards Brooke.

"Hey Brooke." Nathan came up to her.

"Hey yourself. This is quite a set up you got going here."

"Yeah not a bad way of earning six figures for doing nothing but running on a treadmill and drinking some water." Nathan looked around various crew members.

"I'll bet." Brooke announced. "So how long are you in town? I'm sure you're dying to get back to Tutor mom."

"She has a name Brooke." Nathan shook his head and motioned for her to follow him.

"Yeah but my name sounds more fun."

Nathan ignored her and continued walking towards his dressing room. "Tomorrow morning we're shooting another commercial and I'm heading back to Tree Hill right after that."

"So you're message said you needed me for something?" Brooke eyed Nathan curiously. Brooke wasn't use to a getting a call from Nathan Scott to hang out. Something was definitely up.

"Yeah, I need your help with something."

"Should I be worried?"

"No.. well. . I .. I hope not." Nathan muttered and went behind a changing screen. Nathan quickly changed his shirt and slipped on a pair of jeans.

Brooke leaned against the vanity while Nathan sat on a nearby couch, trying his shoe laces.

"Okay Scott, but this better good."

"It is." Nathan reached into his pocket and pulled out a diamond ring.

"Holy shit is that?" Brooke lunged forward and grabbed the ring from him.

"Yes it is."

"You know, for a person who just made over six figures in one afternoon, I thought you'd spring for a bigger rock."

"Well, I knew it would be something Haley would love."

Brooke looked back at the ring and her eyes flickered in reorganization. "Wait, this isn't _the ring_." Brooke looked back to Nathan and then held the ring up as the memories came flooding back to her.

"Holy shit, this is it!" Brooke exclaimed.

* * *

_"Brooke, I asked you to help me buy something Haley would like, not what you would like." Nathan complained as they entered a small jewelry store._

"_Listen, I told you. Haley, Peyton and I were here last week shopping and she was definitely scooping some items out. And besides, you're lucky I'm taking time away from my busy duties to help you."_

"_You're class president, not president of the country."_

"_Yeah yeah don't push you luck Scott, you're lucky I love Haley so much."_

"_No, I love Haley." Nathan pointed out. "Now what're we doing here?"_

"_So impatient, luckily for you, I know that Haley will love the present you're going to get her. But I am surprised you're asking me for help again, I know I'm awesome and all but you've guys have been dating for over a year now, surely you must've developed some sense of what she would like for Christmas or my theory that all Scott men are thick headed is ttrue."_

"_Look I'm not the best gift-giver and Lucas is just as clueless. Besides I do have other things I got for her but I want to get her at least something that I know for sure she would love." _

"_Well, I called the clerk ahead of time to put it on the side. It's these gorgeous pair of earrings. I saw Haley staring at it for a while and made her try it on. She totally loved it but thought it was too expensive to get for herself." Brooke went up front to the cashier to get the earrings. _

_Nathan leaned against one of the glass casings and he looked down at the assortment of jewelry before him. One item in particular caught his attention. It was a small diamond ring, it looked out flanked by the other flashier rings around it but for some reason it caught his eye. It wasn't flashy or as big as the other rings but maybe that was the point. The ring was simple, plain yet still extremely elegant and beautiful. It reminded him a lot of Haley. _

"_Maybe you aren't such a lost cause after all."_

_Nathan whipped his head around and found Brooke standing next to him. He completely zoned out there. _

"_Huh?"_

"_You know Haley was looking at that same exact ring too, you know."_

"_She was?"_

"_Yeah, I teased her and asked if she was taking a glimpse into the future, maybe I was right after all." Brooke smirked and headed back to the clerk who just came out of the back to grab the earrings."_

"_Maybe." Nathan muttered to himself, taking one last glance at the ring and then following Brooke to the front register._

* * *

"I can't believe that store still had this ring after all this time." Brooke still couldn't believe it.

Nathan snatched it back from her and put it on a chain that was on his neck.

"Actually, I bought it a long time ago."

"How long ago?" Brooke cocked her head.

"Like 5 years ago."

"WHAT!" Brooke smacked his arm. "You bought her this ring and yet you left her!" Now Brooke was getting mad. She wasn't thrilled that Nathan was back in Haley's life. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that Haley was pregnant with his child, she would've paid him no mind. But Haley was pregnant with Nathan's son and like it or not that meant that both her and Nathan would be part of each other's lives. She tolerated Nathan and eventually warmed up to him, seeing his devotion for both Haley and his son. Even the most cynical of people can see that Nathan loves Haley. Brooke knew that too but that didn't mean she didn't worry about her friend. When Nathan left Haley, a part of Brooke left with him. She always looked up to them. She would've been jealous of their love if she didn't admire it so much. Nathan and Haley gave her hope, hope that one day she might find love like they had. Seeing their love end and how it ended jaded Brooke. But seeing them back together and so happy and in love had Brooke reconsidering things. Now it seems the tide was once again turning.

"I bought it on a whim a few weeks after we went shopping that Christmas during senior year. Haley told me she was going to Duke, we were going to go to college together. I saw a future for us and I just bought the ring. But after that I had time to think, we were still in high school, I mean who gets engaged at high school. And that whole mess with Duke happened and well, you know the rest." Nathan looked down. "It's not something I'm not proud of but it's something I have to live with for the rest of my life. For five years, I tried so hard to get rid of the ring but getting rid of it meant that Haley was really gone too. I knew I ended things, I knew that she was better of with out me but at least when I look at this ring, I can at least imagine, you know. For a second pretend that I didn't let go of the most important thing in my life. So I kept it."

"And you're showing me this now because?" Brooke eyed him curiously.

"Because Haley and I wasted 5 years of our lives that should've been spent together. Haley is it for me Brooke, you know that and whether she'll marry me now or in five years, I wanted you to know that I intend to spend the rest of my life with her, if she'll let me." Nathan stated. "You and I have always butted heads but I never got to thank you. Thank you for being there for Haley when I wasn't. You're a good friend to her Brooke. She values your friendship and I know that you must hate me for what I've done. I've already apologized, I don't know what else I can do."

"So you're seeking my approval?"

"No, Haley's a big girl. She'll do what she wants to do. Would I like your blessing, yeah sure why not. But I'm not asking for that either. There's only one person who I asked and if Mr. James were alive, I would've came to him too."

"Wait, you went to Mrs. James? She gave you her blessing?"

Nathan nodded. "Well, I don't know if she gave me her blessing per say. She said that she'll support Haley in whatever Haley wants to do. But you and her did agree on one thing."

"What?"

"The rock is a little small." Nathan smirked. "Look Brooke." Nathan started to pace. "You're Haley's friend and I'd like to think at one point we were friends too.. or very good acquaintances at the very least and I need your help with this cuz I sure as hell can't go to Lucas or Clay with this."

"…"

Nathan sighed. "Ok, maybe this was a mistake.. but please hate me all you want but just please don't tell anyone about this .. especially Haley."

"When are you exactly going to pop the question?"

"Like I told Lydia, I don't know .. when the moment is right, I'll do it. But I'd at least liked to be prepared. So please, just don't say anything." Nathan pleaded.

Brooke sighed.

"Let me see it again?" Brooke stuck out her hand.

"Huh?"

"The ring, let me see it."

Nathan removed the necklace from his neck and handed it to Brooke. Brooke held the ring up to her eyes and studied it carefully.

"The diamond on this is about three fifths a carrot. The setting is beautiful, platinum band, you can easily fit a two carrot in it but knowing Haley, she wouldn't want something that big so maybe one and half carrot, princess cut." Brooke handed the ring back to Nathan.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this but I'll do it. I'll help you." Brooke stated.

. . . . . .

A few days later

"So the doctor's visit went okay?" Lucas turned to Nathan as they waited at a clinic in Charlotte.

"Yeah, the doctor drew some blood, did some extra scans."

"And did Haley suspect anything?"

"No, she just thought it was one of their routine check ups on the baby."

Lucas nodded. "I was doing research and you're doctor was right, they would've caught HCM on your son by now with all the routine testing they do now but you never know."

"Yeah, I looked it up too. It definitely made me feel better but I'll be a lot happier once I get the official word."

Lucas nodded his head.

"You nervous?" Nathan asked.

"Terrified best sums it up." Lucas started tapping his foot and started flipping through a magazine that was on the chair next to him. "But you don't have anything to worry about."

"What're you talking about?"

"Didn't they do a ton of physicals for you to be on the Sonics anyways? Especially after you're back injury."

"Well yeah but professional athletes have dropped dead over this disease so I'm just as terrified about this as you."

Lucas paused for a minute. "You think Dan could've just left us his beach house instead of this." Lucas tried to lighten up the situation.

"Or a car from the dealership." Nathan sat back. "You know Luke, I'm glad we're doing this now. At least we'll know."

"But what about you Nate? I mean sure I play ball at the River Court but basketball is your career."

"You're right, it's my career. But I can also change careers. I'm not going to say it's not going to suck because if I have it, it will but I have Haley and the baby to think about. They come first."

Lucas couldn't help but smile. He had to admit that he was pleasantly surprised to see how far Nathan has come in the past couple of months. "I still can't believe Haley moved in with you."

"You and I both." Nathan chuckled. "You're.. you're okay with that right?"

Lucas shrugged. "Normally, I would've said yes but it's not like I didn't see it coming. And I'm happy for you .. and Haley too."

"Yeah, I just don't like keeping this from her."

"Yeah, same here."

"As soon as I get the results, I'm telling her. We're at a good place right now.. a really good place. I .. I just don't want anything to mess that up.."

Lucas nodded his head in agreement and flipped a few more pages of the celebrity magazine he was skimming over. There was nothing in there worth reading except who was wearing who but then he stopped at one particular page.

"Think you spoke too soon little brother."

"Huh?"

"You saw Brooke right? When you were in New York two days ago?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Cuz I think Haley won't be too thrilled to read about this."

"Huh?" Nathan grabbed the magazine from Lucas. In it was a couple of pictures of him and Brooke entering a jewelry store, followed by shots Nathan at the cashier, and then the two leaving the store with Brooke carrying a small shopping bag.

_"Nathan Scott: NBA Dog_

_First, he was dating up and coming actress Alex DuPree, then came the revelation that he got an old fling pregnant from his home town in North Carolina. Now, it appears Sonics player Nathan Scott is back on the prowl. Shown here are photos of Scott with an unknown brunette on a recent shopping trip in New York City. Scott may be a dog but at least he the boy knows where to shop."_

"What the fuck!" Nathan's eyes went wide. HCM or not, Nathan felt like his heart rate speed and up and his whole body turn numb.

To Be Continued . . . . .


	23. The Desperate Kingdom of Love

The Search for Something More

Chapter 23 – The Desperate Kingdom of Love

Thank you all for the feedback. Now this chapter was one of those things I imagined from the start of the story. It's also very long and a lot of emotions going on in this chapter. There is one flashback in here which may seem familiar. It took me a while to get it all in here as I kept changing things here and there. I tried my best to convey how it all played out in my mind. Also, this is a very long chapter, probably my longest so if I mess up on grammar or spelling I am so sorry. I don't know where my beta went lol but if anyone wants to help me out, please let me know.

Enjoy and please review!

I also updated "Happily Ever After" with the POV of Nathan and Haley so check that out.

* * *

"_I could love you forever." Nathan says softly as his body hovers above her._

"_So could I."_

"_You're my family now Haley. The true thing I have. I never wanna lose you."_

"_You won't." She caressed his check. She sees his blue eyes turn dark and his brow furrows inward and she knows he's in deep thought. " What?"_

_Then realization comes over him and Nathan's face relaxes and a small smile creeps onto his face. _

_

* * *

_

"Haley, this isn't funny!" Brooke held onto her phone tight.

"You have to admit Brooke, it kinda is." Haley snickered.

"Haley, you should be upset! The papers think Nathan is cheating on you.. with me!"

"Oh I know, that's why it's so funny."

"Oh gosh." Brooke put her head down. "This is so embarrassing, everyone thinks I'm a home wrecker to one of my best friends!"

"Brooke, calm down. It's okay. I know it's not true."

"Yes but that's not what everyone else thinks!" Brooke pointed out.

"Who cares what other people think." Haley shrugged. One thing she learned over the past couple of months and dealing with the press herself, you can't believe everything you read. "And serves you right for making Nathan take you shopping."

"What?" Brooke replied innocently. "I told you I forgot my wallet."

"Uh hu." Haley replied sarcastically. "I hope you didn't give Nathan too much of a hard time."

"Moi?" Brooke replied in an overly sweet voice.

"Brooke, I know you and I know that you weren't too thrilled that I decided to move in with Nathan so soon. He's really trying Brooke." Haley was a little surprised that Nathan said that he would contact Brooke while he was shooting in New York but she loved Nathan for trying. She loved Brooke to death but she can be just as over protective as Lucas and Nathan. Brooke and Nathan were civil around each other for her but it warmed Haley's heart to know that Nathan was trying to thaw the ice with Brooke. Haley had felt the same way when Nathan finally got a chance to meet with her mom for the first time in five years.

"Yeah, yeah I know. And believe it or not I am happy for you.. if this is what you want of course."

"It is." Haley replied confidently.

_Good, you better enjoy the rock that I helped picked out for you, _Brooke thought to herself.

"Then good." Brooke replied. "But if I'm freaking out about this, I can't imagine how Nathan will react." Luckily, while Brooke was on the phone with Haley, she texted Nathan what happened and the cover story she used with Haley as to why photographers caught them in a jewelry store. All she knew was that she was definitely going to make Nathan buy her something nice and shiny for all the trouble she's gone through.

Haley leaned back on the sofa and put the magazine she was looking at of Nathan and Brooke down and picked up one of the parenting/ mother's to be magazine she picked up at the grocery store.

"I'm pretty sure that once he gets home, he's going to freak out." Haley casually replied.

. . . . . .

"Nathan, calm down." Clay switched his blackberry to his other ear. Nathan's yelling was doing some serious damage to his ear drums.

"Calm down!" Nathan exclaimed. "The world thinks I'm a douche cheating on his pregnant girlfriend!" Nathan looked back at the article and threw the magazine down on the ground. After leaving the clinic, Lucas and Nathan went to the local drug store where two other magazines also had similar articles of Brooke and Nathan shopping. Nathan was currently yelling on the phone in an empty parking lot while Lucas watched amused.

"I told you, I'll take care of it, we're just going to tell the press the truth."

"Like anyone cares about that."

"Nate, seriously. Relax. I'm going to tell them what you told me, you just met up with an old friend. She was forgot her wallet, you paid for the jewelry."

"Yeah. That sounds right. Look Clay, just fix it okay." Nathan hung up the phone and turned to Lucas.

"What's so funny?" Nathan glared at his brother.

"The thought of you and Brooke." Lucas laughed.

"It's gross." Nathan pointed out. "How is that you can't get with her and yet I'm the one that looks like I'm hooking up with her?"

"Cute." Lucas narrowed his eye at Nathan. "But I still don't get why you and Brooke went shopping."

Nathan cleared his throat. "Believe me, it wasn't something I was looking forward to."

"What are you not telling Nathan?"

"Nothing."

"Something feels off."

"Did you not hear me yelling at Clay, of course I'm feeling off."

"That's not what I meant."

"You mean the fact that we might have HCM and my son.. your nephew might have it too." Nathan shook his head. "Geez Luke, quit with the third degree." Nathan got back in the car.

"You're right. I'm sorry, let's just go back home."

Nathan nodded and started the engine up when he heard his phone chirp. He reached for his phone and noticed a text message from Alex.

"What is it?" Lucas asked. Nathan showed his phone to Lucas and Lucas immediately tried not to laugh.

_"How come you never bought me jewelry Nate? And FYI, I'm totally hotter than that chick."_

"Not a word." Nathan word.

"I wasn't going to say anything." Lucas put on his seatbelt.

. . . . . . .

"Hales!" Nathan called out as he entered his house, their house.

"Hey!" Haley came waddling out of the kitchen, a bottle of water in her hand. "What's that?"

"What?" Nathan asked innocently.

"Whatever it is you're hiding behind you're back." Haley eyed him curiously as she stepped closer to him.

"Oh you mean these." Nathan whipped out a doze lavender lilies.

"Aww, pretty." Haley eagerly took it from him and leaned up and kissed him on the lips. "Are you trying to buy my affection?"

"Huh?"

"Kind of like how you bought Brooke's?" Haley quipped.

"I guess you saw it." Nathan wanted to kick himself in the ass. Of course Haley saw it, Brooke had texted him while he was at the clinic.

Haley nodded as she went back to the kitchen to look for a vase to put the flowers in. She found one but it was too high for her to reach. Nathan pressed himself against Haley and removed it from her.

"Whatever that article said, it's not true."

"I know." Haley giggled. "I talked to Brooke already and believe me as soon as I saw it I knew it was a lie. It's actually pretty funny."

"Not you too." Nathan groaned. "Lucas said the same thing."

"Well, it is. You and Brooke Davis." Haley laughed.

"Party foul on the mental image." Nathan quipped back.

Haley playfully smacked his shoulder as she went to the sink and put water in the vase. "Look after everything that's happened in the past couple of months, I know never to trust whatever those papers have to say."

"Thank you." Nathan leaned and kissed Haley on top of her head. "But I'm still sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. You don't need this bad press." Haley turned around to face him.

"Yeah, I know but I have Clay on it."

"Good." Haley picked up the flowers and proceeded to walk towards the dining room where she set the vase down in the middle of the dining table.

"Whoa, this looks different." Nathan glanced around.

"Yeah, there's actually furniture in here, so what do you think?"

"I think it looks.. good." Nathan surveyed the room.

"Oh God, you hate it."

Now it was Nathan's turn to laugh. "I don't hate it, Hales. It's fine really."

"You sure it's not too girly. When you told me I can pick out the furniture I wasn't too sure and I knew I should've waited for you to come back from New York but I was bored and I stopped by furniture store. I knew we should've picked this out together. I should call the store to return it."

Nathan chuckled and interrupted her. "Haley, it's fine. I don't mind it at all."

"But this is supposed to be our place now, we should decide on these things together."

"While you make a valid point," Nathan placed his hands on her shoulder and started to gently stroke her arms. "In all honesty Hales, I could care less. I mean just give me my comfy couch and the big screen and I'm fine, plus I already know you hate pink so I'm fine with whatever you choose."

"You sure?"

"Yes, plus I like that you picked it out. It'll always remind me of you.. of us and how can I hate that?" Nathan leaned his forehead against Haley's.

"Oh I love this whole, you leaving and coming back." She kissed him and gave him a big hug.

"Well it is nice to be back home." Nathan wrapped his arms around Haley and guided her back to the living room and they settled on the couch. Nathan saw a bunch of magazines sprawled out on the coffee table. He grabbed them all and sorted out the ones that had the pictures of him and Brooke.

"Yeah, these are getting thrown away."

Haley laughed and grabbed one of the parenting magazines from him. "Don't throw this one away, this has a bunch of tips for first time parents."

"Yeah, definitely keep that." Nathan agreed.

"There's so many things that we still have to do." Haley skimmed through the magazine. "You know there's a whole section on baby safety alone." Haley shook her head. "First thing tomorrow, I'm signing up us up for one of those classes, we also need to do our Lamaze class."

"Yeah, that's smart. They train you to do diapers too right? Cuz I have no clue how to do that."

"You changing a dirty diaper, oh that'll be the day." Haley joked.

"I know." Nathan agreed. "But that day will be soon approaching." Nathan rubbed Haley's belly. "Maybe I can make Clay do it, like put it as part of his duties." He joked back.

Haley laughed as she skimmed through the magazine. "There's so many things to think about like getting the right formula, making sure we use the baby detergent to wash all his clothes and linens, you know there's even kangaroo time for when after the baby is born."

"Kanga- what?"

"Kangaroo time. It's basically, you holding the baby, skin to skin. It helps transition them from the womb to the real world. Most mother's do it but dad's do it too."

"Are you for real?"

"Yeah, look here's an article on it." Haley flipped the pages to the article and handed it to Nathan. "It'll be cute, you holding the baby shirtless, or just you shirtless." Haley smirked.

Nathan smirked back.

"Apparently." Haley cleared her throat, her pregnancy hormones getting the best of her at the moment. "It's very helpful with premature babies. I asked my mom about it and she said she did it with me." Then Haley's face grimaced.

"What?"

"Well she said she inadvertently did kangaroo time because she walked around naked with me."

Nathan grimaced back. "TMI Hales."

"Yeah you're right." Haley shook her head. "Speaking of my mom, we're having a small party for her next weekend. I need you to pick up the birthday cake."

"It's her birthday already?"

"Not really but she's going to go away with her and her friends to some country-folk music festival down in Savannah and then she's going to spend sometime with my brother in California. She'll be there for her birthday with other family too but I'm not able to fly anymore so I figure we can celebrate a little early."

"Okay, cool. We having it here or your mom's house."

"The café actually. Karen volunteered."

"Sounds good." Nathan nodded and flipped through the parenting magazine. He couldn't believe that he and Haley were going to be parents soon. Now this was the type of magazines he should be paying attention to.

"What the hell?" Nathan looked at one of the ads. "$200 for a breast pump."

"Yeah, I hear those things are expensive."

"Look I may have some money stashed away but there's no way I'm going to spend that much money on something to squeeze your breasts." Nathan pointed out. "I can just use a bottle and use my hands."

"Nathan, I'm not a cow!"

"What? It'll give me a chance to handle the goods before the kid steals it from me." Nathan smirked.

"Already, jealous of our son huh?" Haley arched her eyebrow.

"Nooo.." Nathan replied and put the magazine down and pulled Haley close to him.

"I love our son." Nathan rested his hand on top of her ever growing belly. "And I love you."

"I love you too." Haley put her arms around Nathan's shoulder. "Now did I ever tell you how much I missed you while you were away."

"I believe you haven't."

"Well, let me show you." Haley smiled and leaned forward and kissed Nathan. Nathan held Haley close and leaned as Haley straddled him.

"Shirt off now." Haley ordered.

"Is it our kangaroo time?" Nathan chuckled as he removed his shirt. Haley let her fingers run across his chiseled chest and abs.

Haley had some sort of witty comeback to say to him but right now all she can focus on was his torso.

"Oh yeah." Haley replied seductively as she dipped forward and locked lips with Nathan.

* * *

"Do you have it?" Brooke asked.

"Do you?" Nathan replied back.

Brooke looked around to make sure no one was around. They were currently in the back of Karen's Café. Haley and some of the others were in the front setting up for Lydia's party.

"Of course I have it." Brooke replied. "But you first."

Nathan glanced behind him to make sure the coast was clear. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a watch from Tiffany's. Brooke immediately grabbed it and wore it.

"So pretty." Brooke admired her new toy. "You have such good tastes."

"Well you are the one that picked it out." Nathan replied. Spending a few hundred dollars to keep Brooke pleased was well worth the investment. He did owe her for helping him out with the ring and getting her involved in this whole mess with the tabloids. Clay had released a statement and recent shots of him and Haley together that seem to have calmed the potential media storm.

"The ring?"

"Here you go." Brooke handed him a small velvet black box.

Nathan opened it and instantly smiled. The diamond was definitely much bigger but not too over the top because he knew that Haley wouldn't like that. He could definitely see her wearing it and a lifetime of happiness that comes with it.

Nathan heard footsteps behind him and quickly snapped the box shut and put it in his pocket.

"Hey, Nathan can you help Lucas with the… Brooke?" Haley completely forgot that Brooke was going to be back in Tree Hill.

"Hey Hales." Brooke plastered a smile on her face and gave Haley a quick hug.

"Hey Brooke, I forgot you were back in town. What're you two doing?" She asked curiously. She definitely felt like she walked in on something important.

"Nothing." They both replied at the same time.

Now Haley curiosity was getting peaked.

"Just saying hi." Brooke spoke first.

"Yeah." Nathan replied. "And Brooke was just about to pay me back for the watch I bought for her." Nathan added.

"Yeah." Brooke replied. "Wait what?"

"Oh is that it?" Haley asked once she saw Brooke's wrist.

"Yeah." Brooke held her hand up.

"Oh it's so pretty. I can only imagine how much it costs."

"$800.00 to be exact." Nathan replied and eyed Brooke with a grin.

"Brooke, I can't believe you spent so much on a watch."

"I know." Brooke gritted.

"But it is a nice watch." Nathan added.

"Yeah and I was telling Nathan here before you walked in that I forgot my check book."

"Oh I think I saw it when you opened your purse to get your cell phone." Nathan pointed to Brooke's open bag.

Brooke gave a tight smile. "Well what do you know, I do have my check book." Brooke reluctantly took it and started to make a check out to Nathan.

"Hey Nathan." Haley turned to Nathan while Brooke wrote out the check. "Lucas was able to get the cake and some other stuff, can you help unload his car when you're done?"

"Sure thing."

"Great." Haley leaned up and gave Nathan a peck on the cheek. "We'll talk later Brooke, I have to finish decorating."

"Don't over do it." Nathan playfully chided.

Haley playfully waved her hands off as she walked back to the front.

"Thanks." Nathan smirked as he took the check from Brooke.

"No, thank you."

Nathan looked down on the check and saw that Brooke wrote out a check for $1.00.

"Brooke, what the hell!"

"Relax hot shot, I'm going to need the money to throw the fabulous baby shower me and Peyton are planning for Haley." Brooke smirked as she walked past Nathan.

. . . . . .

The party was in full swing and everyone was having a great time. Nathan watched from a distance as Haley smiled and laughed with her mom and Karen. Haley looked so happy and he was so glad that Haley was enjoying herself and spending time with her mom. Haley's rather large family kept Lydia on the road.

"Hey." Lucas walked up behind Nathan.

"Hey." Nathan turned around.

"Look, I was going to wait until the end of the party but I need to talk to you." Lucas said in a low voice.

"Is everything okay?" Nathan asked.

"Follow me." Lucas nodded towards the door. Nathan took one last glance at Haley before following Lucas outside.

Nathan had a good idea of what this was about and they walked about two store fronts down before Lucas stopped.

"I just got it today." Lucas reached for the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a white envelope.

"I was going to wait until later but ever since I saw it today, I couldn't stop thinking about it." Lucas was glad Haley kept him and Nathan busy today with setting up for the party but now he was just too anxious and nervous and scared. His nephew's future was in that envelope.

Nathan's hands trembled slightly as he took the letter from Lucas. It had his name and Haley's name on it. Instead of using Nathan's address, he wrote the mailing addresses to Lucas' so Haley couldn't find it.

"Any word about our test results?"

Lucas shook his head. "I called the lab, we should be hearing something in the next few days."

Nathan nodded and closed his eyes for a second and took a big breath and then opened the envelope up.

"Whoa." Nathan balanced himself on Lucas for a second. "It's good. The baby is good. No HCM." Nathan muttered.

"Thank God." Lucas finally let himself breath and reached out and hugged his brother.

"I mean we assumed he was going to be okay. I'm just relieved to know."

"Yeah same here." Lucas pulled back and took a step back as he saw Haley emerge from the café'.

"Are you two trying to skimp out on cleaning duties?" Haley called out. She could've sworn she saw those two leave the café.

"We'll be right in." Nathan called back and hid the envelope from Haley's view.

Haley went back inside and Nathan sighed and turned back to Lucas. "Here hold on to this for the mean time." Nathan gave the letter back to Lucas. "I'm going to tell Haley once we get our results back."

Lucas nodded back and stuffed the envelope back inside his jacket pocket.

. . . . . .

"Did you have fun?" Haley turned to her mom.

"I did and thank you for throwing me this party." Lydia hugged Haley as they sat in one of the booths. The party was starting to wind down and some of the guests had already left but a good number of people were still around and were content to just hang out.

"Well it wasn't just me. Karen helped out too and Lucas and Nathan did a lot of the heavy lifting."

"Lucas and Nathan." Lydia chuckled and rubbed Haley's belly. "You know I always knew you're kid was going to be a Scott."

"You did?"

"Yeah, but I thought it was going to be Lucas'." Lydia chuckled again.

"Eww mom, that's gross."

"Well, I got the Scott part right."

"Don't ever say that to Nathan." Haley playfully warned.

"I wouldn't dare." Lydia replied back. "I must say that I've been impressed with how Nathan's been handling the pregnancy. It's not easy taking care of a pregnant woman."

"No, it hasn't but Nathan has been amazing through out all this, well especially after we sorted everything out with our past and stuff."

"I have to admit that I really didn't want to like Nathan again. But as soon as I came back home and saw how he was around you, I knew then how much he loves you. I'm happy for you Haley-bub."

"Thank you mom." Haley replied. "It means a lot to me and to Nathan. We've been doing our best to move on from the past."

"And how's that going? I nearly gagged on my drink when I saw those pictures of Brooke and Nathan last week."

"Yeah I got a good laugh from that one." Haley admitted. "I knew those photos are false. First of all it's Brooke. Second of all, I trust Nathan. We've been open and honest to each other. I know we still have stuff to go through but we're doing our best. He told me that he's trying to get transferred to Charlotte to be closer to home. We've been talking a lot about the baby, you know. We're both excited and a little scared at the same time."

"Only natural as first time parents. You should've saw how me and your dad were when your brother was born. But like I said Haley, I'm happy for you.. for both of you." Lydia squeezed Haley's hand.

. . . . . .

Nathan two full trash bags to the dumpster in the back. He went back inside through the back entrance and washed his hands in the sink. Even though a couple of people left, they were still a good number of people inside but he wanted to get a heads up on cleaning so that way he and Haley could go home sooner. He dried his hands and went back to the front where he saw everyone was still chatting and enjoying themselves, including Haley.

It was then that he noticed the door leading up to the roof. Come to think of it, he'd never been back up there in a while and decided to steal himself a moment and to go upstairs. When he reached the top, he flipped on the lights and was a little sad to see the golf course that was here during their high school years was gone. But a couple of the Christmas lights were still around to light the place up. He glanced around and a ton of memories started coming to him.

He was so happy that his son was HCM free. It was one last worry for him and maybe one day, he and Haley can rebuild the golf course and have their son play in here. A life with Haley and his son, he smiled at the thought and reached inside his pocket and felt the small velvet box.

. . . . . .

"Haley watch…"

"Oh Luke, I'm so sorry!" Haley took a step back as the drink in her hand spilled all over Lucas. She was bringing some used glasses to the back of the café to get washed.

"It's okay." Lucas gave a tight smile. "This isn't the first time this happened."

"I know, I'm so sorry." Haley was red in embarrassment. "You know how a klutz I can be."

Haley put the glass down on a nearby counter top and reached for the paper towel and started to pad Lucas down.

"Hales, it's okay." Lucas took the paper towel from Haley. He looked down at himself and saw his jacket was mostly okay but the majority of the drink spilled on his shirt. Lucas removed his jacket and placed it on a nearby coat rack.

"I'm just going to go to the bathroom."

"I'm sorry." Haley repeated.

"Yeah, it's fine. And take it easy Hales, Nathan and I will take care of cleaning." Lucas waved off as he headed to the bathroom.

She wondered where Nathan had wondered off too tonight. She felt something odd about him tonight. Maybe it was all the people who were here and knew about their past, or the fact that Brooke and Nathan were in the same room and the recent tabloids were still on people's mind.

She took some dirty plates and cups and put them in the sink to soak. She turned to see a stain on Lucas' jacket that she made. She opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of club soda and a clean towel. She grabbed the jacket and put it over her shoulders before setting it down on a nearby table. It was then that she noticed an envelope drop from one of the inside pockets. She was about to put it back inside when she noticed that it was addressed to her and Nathan.

She found it odd that something with their names was being sent to Lucas' house. Then she saw the return address from her OBGYN. Maybe her doctor sent them a letter from the wrong address, she did use Lucas as an emergency contact. The letter was already open so she reached inside and took out the letter.

"_Dear Mr. Scott and Ms. James,_

_Below is the result from the genetic testing you requested on your fetus. The test focused on the genes that encode for one of the sarcomere proteins. The results are negative and your baby does not have Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). Since it was indicated that the father is a known carrier of the disease, it is highly recommended that Mr. Scott be tested if he has not done so already." _

Haley was shocked. What was this? She continued to read the letter and it gave information about HCM and how it is genetic.

"Hales?" Lucas asked as he came back. He felt his stomach drop when he saw her reading something.

"What is this?" Haley held it up to his face.

"Haley, let me explain."

"NO Lucas, this letter pretty much explains it all." Haley looked down and read directly from the letter.

"_HCM is a disease of the myrocardium and it is best perhaps most well known as a leading cause of sudden cardiac disease in young athletes. HCM is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait and is attributed to mutations in one of a number of genes._"

Haley had tears streaming down her face. "And apparently, the office knew that the father of my child is a carrier. What is going on Lucas?"

"Haley, please calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down."

"We were going to tell you."

"What?" Haley's eyes went wide. "What are you and Nathan been hiding from me?"

"Nothing Hales, Dan has HCM. It's the reason why he's dying.."

"Dan has a heart condition and you call that nothing?" Haley scrunched the letter up in her hands. "I expected more from you Lucas.. and from Nathan."

"Hales, we didn't want to worry you. I didn't want to worry you."

"Don't you dare make excuses." Haley pointed her finger at him. "Where's Nathan?"

"…"

"Where's Nathan?" Haley demanded.

"I thought I saw him go up on the roof."

With out another second, Haley stormed off and headed up stairs.

Lucas sighed and put his head down.

"What's going on?" Brooke came in. "We thought we heard you and Haley fighting?"

"There's something you should know." Lucas said softly.

. . . . . .

Nathan had his arms crossed over his chest as he looked out over the town. He forgot how peaceful and beautiful it was up here. He remembered after prom, going up here and dancing with Haley underneath the lights and stars.

He heard the door open and saw Haley walk in.

"I'm not trying to skimp out on my cleaning duties." He joked. "Being up here is like stepping back in time, do you remember when you first brought me here and .." His voice trailed off when he saw how upset she looked and the tear-streaked stain on her face.

"Hales, are you.." Nathan walked over to her but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Haley hold up the letter he read early this evening.

"I found it in your brother's jacket." Haley replied in as calm of a voice she can muster.

"Let me explain."

"This should be good and you're probably going to say that you were going to tell me."

"Yes, I was."

"Fuck Nathan!" Haley shook her head and Nathan winced at her words. Haley rarely cursed. "I thought we were passed this, I thought were done with the secrets and the lies."

"I wasn't trying to hide anything from you Hales. I was going to tell you."

"Are you okay?" Haley cut him off. "Do you have this HCM too?"

"I.. I don't know. I'm waiting for my results back."

"I don't know what you're trying to do to me Nathan. You and our son may have a potentially life threatening disease and you don't bother to tell me!"

"I wanted to tell you when I had all the facts. I didn't want to worry you. Dan has it which means that Lucas and I have a fifty percent chance of having it."

"And our son!" Haley cried out. "Why would you not tell me this?"

"Because I was freaking out too! Because I was scared and frightened and I didn't want you to go through that. I did my research, with all the regular testing they do on the fetus, they would've caught HCM but I wanted to double check."

"So not only did you lie to me but you had the doctor and Lucas too?"

"Haley, it wasn't like that. We all agreed it was best to not bring this up until we had all the facts in front of us."

"So now you're saying that Doctor Anderson recommended that you lie to me too?"

"Haley, be mad at me, you have every right but all that worry and stress isn't good for the baby. So we made the call not to tell you. I wasn't trying to hide things from you, I wanted to tell you. It's been killing me that I couldn't tell you but I couldn't." Nathan pleaded.

"I'm.. I'm sorry. I never meant to lie to you." Nathan added.

Haley looked away and stayed quiet for a couple of seconds. "How long have you known? About Dan, about the HCM?"

"Since the camping trip."

Haley let out a big sigh. "I knew something was bothering you. I looked you in the eye and asked you what it was and you straight up lied to my face!"

"I didn't lie Haley. I told you that I didn't want to talk about it and I meant it."

"But you still kept things from me and all this time you've kept it from me."

"I was trying to protect you."

"Like when you broke up with me and went to Maryland." Haley bit back.

"That was different."

"No, Nathan. It is the same thing." She pointed out. "You were trying to protect me. You made a choice for both of us and I didn't have a say."

"Haley, I was only trying to protect our son and unfortunately that meant hiding this from you. If you ask me if I am sorry then I am but I'll do it again Haley. The waiting, the gut wrenching feeling in the bottom of your stomach, I didn't want you to go through that while carrying our son. Can you please understand that?" Nathan pleaded.

Haley sniffled. "God Nathan, why do I feel like we're back to square one?"

"We're not Hales." Nathan moved closer and put his hands on her shoulders. He felt her tense up but he wasn't going to let her go.

"The baby might be okay but what about you? What about Lucas?" Haley cried out. She felt that gnawing feeling Nathan spoke about. It was making her sick with worry. If anything were to happen to Nathan, she didn't know what she would do. It was why she saw him after his accident.

"We're going to be fine Hales. No matter what the results come back with, we'll at least know and if we have it, we can deal with it and still live and long and healthy life. Look Hales, I'm sorry that I might have this disease. I'm sorry from hiding it from you. I never meant to hurt you."

"I know you're sorry." Haley said softly. "I know you don't want to hurt me but I need to know that you're going to be honest with me."

"I promise."

"I need to know if you're going to let me in Nathan.. all the way.."

"I will.. if that's what it takes. I'm promise, all the way."

Haley shook her head.

"Hales.."

Haley took a step back. "I don't know what's worse, the fact that you lied to me or how it easy it is for you to hide things from me."

"Haley it hasn't been easy on me. Not in the least." Nathan pleaded.

"All those times, I felt something wrong but I pushed it aside. I can't. I can't help feel that you're lying to me. That you're still lying to me."

"I'm not."

Haley looked down and paused. "When I walked in on you and Brooke earlier today, what was that about?" All those times she felt in her gut that something was off, she ignored it. When she saw Nathan and Brooke earlier, she felt something that same weird vibe and it didn't go unnoticed to her, the weird looks they've been giving each other. It was so easy for her to brush it off before but now, now she didn't know what to believe it.

Nathan hesitated. "Nothing, it was about that article last week. The watch I got from Brooke."

"See, you're doing it again Nathan. You gave me that same face when I asked you about the camping trip. You're pushing me away, you're not telling me something."

"Haley.."

"No, Nathan. This is it. No more lies. I can't deal with it. You told me you would let me in all the way, how can you even think of us being together if you're hiding things from me?"

"Haley, I'm asking you. Please don't." Nathan took her hands in his.

Haley pulled away. "No I'm serious Nathan. Not another lie from you. So if there's something going on with you and Brooke, you better tell me now."

"It's nothing bad, Haley. I promise."

Haley took a deep breath to calm herself down. This was Brooke after all. Her trust in Nathan may be in question but Brooke was different. Brooke has never given her a reason to not trust her.

"The only thing You and Brooke have in common is me. So that's what it was about?"

Nathan swallowed his throat. "Yes."

"If it's about throwing me a baby shower or something like that just please say yes and I wont ask any more Nathan but I can't. I can't live like you're hiding something from me." She said calmly.

"Brooke did mention a baby shower." Nathan replied softly.

Haley sighed in relief.

"Haley, I love you. I love you so much." He paused. This wasn't how he planned it but there was no point in turning back now. He has been lying to her and the lies stop tonight. What he had to say, he needed to say.

"All I've ever wanted was to be with you. Even when I said I didn't." Nathan took a step closer to her.

"When I said that I'll let you in Hales, I meant it. It's just that I'm afraid that if I do, you'll see the real me, the guy who I was before you. I'm not proud of that person but if I have to be that guy to keep you safe, then that's who I'm going to be. Look if you want me to apologize for defending you or fighting back when somebody hurts you then I can't do that. I won't do that okay because the truth is that's a guy I'll never be, the guy that just stands there and watched while the world hurts you.. now can you understand that?"

"I can't." Haley replied softly.

"Haley, you have to.."

"No, I meant that I can't keep standing here cuz I'm pregnant and those stairs were a killer.." She tried to joke "Cuz if there's more, I should sit down. But if you're done then just take me home. Everyone else can clean up, cuz I'm tired and I love you .. I love every version of you." There were so many emotions going through her right now. She was angry and hurt that he kept this from her but at the same time, she had to wonder if she were in his position, would she have done the same.

"Come here." Nathan took her in his arms and hugged her tight. He kissed the top of her forehead.

"But I need you to stand here for a minute longer." He pulled back.

"Huh?"

"You were right, about Brooke. There was something." Nathan took a deep breath and Haley looked at him curiously.

"Do you remember the first time we were on top of this roof ? It was the first time I found out that you were actually good at a sport. And the only reason I'm calling it a sport is because you insisted that it is." He smiled and Haley couldn't help but smile back.

"I thought I had you figured out, that I knew you but that night when you kicked my ass, you surprised me. Just when I thought I have you figured out, you just keep on surprising. Every day with you there's something I learn and love about you and if it takes a lifetime to finally figure you all out, then that's what I want to do."

Haley looked at him curiously.

"I didn't want to screw up so I asked for a girl's opinion from Brooke." Nathan tried to joke as he took out a small velvet box.

Haley inwardly gasped, this could not be happening but it was as she saw Nathan go down on one knee.

"Haley, I love you. I've always loved you.." Nathan was about to open the box when Haley stopped him.

"Wait."

"I know, it's a bit sudden." He tried to laugh. "But after everything with Dan and the HCM and even if I have it, it doesn't matter, none of it matters if I don't have you." Nathan looked up into her tear stricken eyes. "You and my son are my family Hales and when I told you that I could love you forever, I meant it." Nathan was about to open the box once more.

"Nathan don't!" Haley interrupted and took a couple of steps back. "Don't ask me, what I think you're going to ask me?"

"What? Why?" Nathan was baffled as he stood up and walked over to her.

"…Because I don't want to hurt you." She said softly.

_No, this couldn't be happening._ Nathan thought to himself. "I don't believe you." Nathan replied and stepped closer to her.

"Nathan please, don't." Haley pleaded and tried to look away but Nathan used his free to gently cup Haley's chin and their eyes locked. His cobalt blue stared deeply into her deep brown.

"Will you spend the rest of your life with me? Will you marry me?" He asked.

Haley let a single tear fall and she felt her hands tremble.

"No."

Nathan's hand fell from her face and he let the box fall down on the ground. It took him a moment to realize what she actually said and it took him another moment to realize that she had actually said _no_ to him… _twice_.

To Be Continued . . . .


	24. You Can't Always Get What You Want

The Search For Something More

Chapter 24 - You Can't Always Get What You Want

I realized that last chapter was 23 and I always try to make 23 in my longer stories so yay lol. Thank you all for the feedback. I meant to update last night but I got home too late. I know everyone was shocked when Haley said no because Nathan was being all sorts of sweets but you have to remember what Haley has been through. Anyways, im glad you all enjoyed the chapter. The flashback in the start of the last chapter (the naley proposal from the show) was what Nathan referred to when she said no to him twice. The flashback in this chapter was supposed to be a lot shorter but I used all the words directly from the show and then when I added my own stuff, it took a life of it's own and I actually really like how the flashback turned out in this chapter and I hope you do too. Gosh I have so much to say but I'll let this chapter speak for itself. Like I said before, last chapter I had in my mind for so long, practically when I first thought of the story and so was this chapter. The ending though I kept changing because in my mind I knew how I wanted the end of the chapter to "feel" but to accomplish that feeling I kept going back and forth. On last note, I know that some of you are wondering about Dan, Rachel and Renee and don't worry, you'll see them soon and about Nathan finding out about Dan and Duke, well, you'll have to wait and read.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy and please review.

* * *

"You and my son are my family Hales and when I told you that I could love you forever, I meant it." Nathan was about to open the box once more.

"Nathan don't!" Haley interrupted and took a couple of steps back. "Don't ask me, what I think you're going to ask me?"

"What? Why?" Nathan was baffled as he stood up and walked over to her.

"…Because I don't want to hurt you." She said softly.

_No, this couldn't be happening._ Nathan thought to himself. "I don't believe you." Nathan replied and stepped closer to her.

"Nathan please, don't." Haley pleaded and tried to look away but Nathan used his free to gently cup Haley's chin and their eyes locked. His cobalt blue stared deeply into her deep brown.

"Will you spend the rest of your life with me? Will you marry me?" He asked.

Haley let a single tear fall and she felt her hands tremble.

"No."

Nathan's hand fell from her face and he let the box fall down on the ground. He stood there for a moment, completely frozen. This wasn't how it was suppose to happen, she wasn't supposed to say no _again_.

* * *

"_I could love you forever." Nathan says softly as his body hovers above her._

"_So could I."_

"_You're my family now Haley. The true thing I have. I never wanna lose you."_

"_You won't." She caressed his check. She sees his blue eyes turn dark and his brow furrows inward and she knows he's in deep thought. " What?"_

_Then as if a realization came over him and Nathan's face relaxes and a small smile creeps onto his face._

"_Marry me?"_

_Haley immediately smiles and feels a blush coming through her face. She must look totally red right now. "Stop it." She tried to push him off her. _

"_What would you?" Nathan asks as Haley sits up. _

"_Oh you're embarrassing me." _

"_Why not?"_

" _Because…we're in high school."_

"_So what? I'm emancipated."_

" _Is this about sex, because I wanna wait?"_

"_No, I can see you caving on that one already." Nathan smirks slightly. _

_Haley laughs despite herself. "Well maybe so. Nathan, couples don't get married in high school. It's just…it's not normal._

"_So? I'm not normal. What I'm feeling is definitely not normal and to be _

_honest with you Haley, I don't ever want to be normal. Not with you… I'm _

_serious."_

"_I know you are."_

"_OK, so I'll say it again. I could love you forever."_

"_Nathan, so could I but.."_

"_So then why can't forever start today?" Nathan questions. _

_Haley caresses his cheeks and leans in and kissed him gently before settling her head back onto his chest. While Nathan enjoys the feel of her and the way she's drawing random patterns across his chest and stomach, he's still waiting for an answer. _

_He didn't know how marriage popped up in his head but all he knows is that he loves her and the thought of not being with her was completely unacceptable to him. All he knew was that it felt right, she felt right and spending the rest of his life with Haley felt right. _

"_I really love you, you know that?"_

"_Is that a yes?" Nathan smiles. _

"_It means that no matter what happens to us I'll always love you and I know that I want my first time to be with you."_

"_Haley.." Nathan tries to speak but puts her fingers on his lips. _

"_It also means that forever started a long time ago Nathan." Haley paused to gather her thoughts. While a lifetime with Nathan was definitely a comforting thought, she both knew they were both too young. _

"_You know when I got my tattoo, Lucas asked me why and I told him that in twenty years from now.. if I remember how it feels to be in love then I'd be okay with that and in twenty years time I know that no matter what happens between us I'll always love you. You're my first love Nathan Scott."_

"_I want to be you're only love." Nathan pointed out._

"_Somehow I have a feeling you will be." _

"_So that is a yes?"_

_Haley laughs. "God you really such a sweet man. I love you for it Nathan." Haley settles down on his chest. "One day when we're done with school, I'll be teaching a bunch of spoiled high school kids, you will be drafted in the NBA.. we'll get married at the gardens next to the church my parents got married."_

"_So it's a no." Nathan grimaces. _

"_Nathan dear." Haley playfully smacks his cheeks. "You might be emancipated but I'm not. We can't get married, plus I don't think with the part time job you have at the mall and getting married is going to show a judge that you're fit to be on your own."_

"_I guess you're right." Nathan mumbles and settles back down while Haley rest her head back on his chest. While he's disappointed and his pride is wounded, he tries not dwell on it. One day he will marry this girl. He's sure of it._

"_You know one day I'm going to ask again." Nathan speaks up._

"_I don't doubt that." Haley laughs and hugs Nathan tighter. _

"_And you're going to say yes."_

"_Am I now?" Haley raises an eyebrow._

"_Yep, and we'll have a nice big house with a nice big pool."_

"_And a nice kitchen, don't forget the kitchen oh and shutters on the windows." Haley adds._

"_And shutters on the window." Nathan laughs. "And we'll have a basketball court."_

"_Of course."_

"_And a room with a piano so you can play for me whenever I want."_

_Haley laughs._

"_And you're going to want a dog." Nathan adds._

"_I would like a dog." Haley confirms with a nod. _

"_And I'm going to tell you that yes Lucas can come over but he can't live with us." He smirks and Haley playfully smacks his chest._

_Nathan laughs but continues. "But we're not going to get a dog because I hate pets and the only things I want to be taking care of is you and our kids."_

"_Our kids huh?"_

"_Yep. Didn't I tell you that the house is going to have at least three bedrooms? We got to fill it up somehow."_

"_Really now?"_

"_Yep, but we'll start of slow… just one kid first." _

"_A son with your eyes." Haley interrupts as images of life together with Nathan fills her mind. _

"_No." Nathan shakes his head slightly and Haley looks up at him intently. "A little girl just like you."_

_Haley couldn't hide the smile on her face even if she wanted to. Nathan leans in and kisses her. Any doubt about giving herself mind and body over to Nathan quickly fades as she guides Nathan's hands down to the hem of her shirt. Nathan pauses for a second and looks straight into Haley's eyes and he sees nothing but love and desire in them. He lifts the shirt from her and tosses it aside. Haley kisses him again and the feel of her bare chest against his is sending his body on fire. Haley sneaks her hand in between them and tugs at the hem of his boxers. _

_The rest of their clothes are shed and it doesn't take long for them to become one. "Yes, Nathan!" He hears from Haley repeatedly that night and while it wasn't the quite the 'yes' he was looking for, he knew that one day she would be his. One day he'll ask her again and she'll say yes. He'll have everything he ever wanted and wouldn't need anything. She belonged to him, and only to him. _

_

* * *

_The sound of the ring falling on the ground snaps Nathan back to the present. He looks down on it and then he looks back at Haley who now has more tears streaming down her face. He opens his mouth to try to say something but words fail him. He shakes his head, there's no point anyway. Nathan then starts to take a few steps backwards.

"Nathan, wait."

He stops momentarily before turning back around and heading for the door.

"Nathan!" Haley calls out but Nathan turns the knob and quickly rushes down the stairs.

. . . . . . .

"Brooke say something." Lucas says. He just told Brooke everything about the HCM and Dan.

Brooke lunges forward and gives Lucas a hug.

"Oh Luke, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. The baby is fine. And I'll be fine. It's okay."

"Luke, you might have heart disease. This isn't fine." Brooke pulls back.

"Yes but I'm not an athlete anymore. I'm more worried about Nathan. But nothing has happened to us and now that we know, nothing will happen to us."

"But.." Brooke was about to speak but they both turn around as the hear of footsteps quickly descends the steps. The door quickly opens and Nathan appears.

"Nate?" Lucas walks up to him.

"You can make sure Haley gets home right?"

"Yeah, Nate what's going on?"

"I got to go."

"Nathan, wait!" Lucas calls off but he's gone before he knows it and Lucas is torn between going after him or going up to Haley. Taking his chances, he takes the stairs up with Brooke on his tail.

"Hales?" Lucas calls out as he sees Haley slumped over against the ledge.

"Haley you okay?" Brooke rushes past Haley and kneels down next to her.

Lucas immediately notices a small black box in Haley's hands.

"Haley, what's that?" He asks.

"Oh my God, he asked you." Brooke speaks up and Haley remains silent except for her sniffles.

"Asked you what?" Lucas asks.

"Lucas Scott, are you that dense?" Brooke rolls her eyes and turns back to Haley. "Haley, are you okay?"

Haley shakes his head.

Lucas kneels down next to her. "I can't believe he proposed to you." He mutters softly.

"I've never seen him so hurt." Haley finally speaks.

"Haley what happened?"

Haley just shakes her head, not ready to relive the moment.

More footsteps can be heard and the next thing Haley knows, she sees her mom.

"Oh Haley." Lydia rushes over to her daughter. "I knew something was up when I saw Nathan take off like a bat out of hell."

Lydia notices the small box and inwardly gasps. "I can't believe he asked you already."

"Wait." Haley looks at her mom. "You.. you knew?"

Lydia takes a deep breath. "He showed me the ring." Lydia admits. "He asked for my blessing."

"And what did you say?"

"I said it doesn't matter what I think, it's up to you. And guessing by everything, it didn't go well."

"No it didn't." Haley shook her head. "Do you know where he went?"

Lydia shook her head and Haley turned to Lucas.

"Can you help me find him? I need to talk to him."

"Sure." Lucas extended his hand and helped Haley up.

. . . .

"Of course, check the one place where he might actually be." Haley sighs and leans her head back against the car seat. She and Lucas drove all over town trying to look for Nathan. The ride was mostly in silence as both of them were too preoccupied with their own thoughts. After driving around, they finally turned around and headed back to their house.. Nathan's house and sure enough his car was parked on the driveway.

Lucas pulls his car into the drive way next to Nathan and shifts the gear to park.

"Are you going to be okay Hales? I know it's a lot to take in… ouch!" Lucas exclaims as Haley hits him upside the head.

"That's for lying to me."

Lucas rubs his head. "I guess I deserve that."

"You're damn right."

"Is this why you said no to Nathan?"

"No.. maybe.. I don't know." Haley was so concerned over finding Nathan that she didn't even know what to say to him when she found him. "Did you know about this? That he bought me a ring?"

"No, I didn't."

"Brooke helped him pick it out apparently. That's why they were photographed by last week."

"I can't believe I didn't see it."

"You and I both."

"Hales, what're you going to do?"

"…"

"Hales, you're my best friend and I love you, you know that right?"

"I know Luke, thanks."

"And I'm sorry for keeping the HCM a secret."

"And you better not have it Luke." Haley gave him a pointed look, signaling that she was more concerned over his health than him actually lying about it.

"I won't. I'm going to be fine." Lucas smiled softly and nodded. "I'm more worried about you."

"Me?"

"I only want you to be happy Hales. I want that for both of you actually." Lucas pauses for a minute. "I don't know how I get myself into these things. When Nathan came back into our lives, I swore I wasn't going to get myself involved."

"And how did that work out?"

"Miserably." Lucas gives a quick chuckle. "It was so easy to hate Nathan when I didn't know him and it was easy to hate him when he wasn't in our lives but now that he's back…."

"What?"

"We fight constantly and we're always trading jabs at each other but.." Lucas laughs and shakes his head. "I wouldn't have it any other way. He keeps me on my toes, makes me laugh, makes me have fun. He's my brother and as much as you're my best friend.. in a way, so is he."

Haley gives him a solemn look.

"I know crazy right just don't tell him that." Lucas quickly adds. "I will always have your back Hales, whatever you do or whatever happens with you and Nathan but you have to understand that Nathan is my brother." He paused for a second. "Nathan may act like he's all tough on the outside but you and I know it's just a front. He loves you and the baby so much. I don't care what that HCM test comes back with, Nate's heart is more fragile than what you think. Please be careful with it. You two have been through so much, I don't want to see either of you hurt."

Haley took a deep breath and nodded. She reached over and hugged Lucas. "You're a good man Lucas Scott and a good brother. Nathan is lucky to have you, we both are."

"Back at you."

. . . . .

Haley stepped inside the dark house and heard footsteps upstairs. Going up the stairs, she saw the lights on in the master suite. When she got to the door, she found Nathan walking around, a suitcase open on the bed and Nathan stuffing it with clothes. Haley didn't know whether to be angry or upset.

"You're leaving?" She questioned.

Nathan didn't bother to turn to her and continued sorting his clothes. "The doctors who saved my back are having a charity function tomorrow night in New York to raise money for the hospital. I wasn't planning on going but I owe it to them to go."

Nathan stopped and looked at Haley. "Don't worry, I promise I won't buy and jewelry this time."

"Nathan, look." Haley stepped inside. "Let me explain."

"Explain how you don't want to marry me." Nathan shook his head. "Sorry but I'd rather not."

"Nathan, please hear me out. Don't shut me out."

"I'm not shutting you out." Nathan stated. "I've been doing nothing but trying to let you in, I can't make you love me."

"Nathan, I do love you."

"But it's not enough is it?" He countered.

"Nathan, don't twist my words around."

"You're the one that said no, Hales. There's nothing to twist or spin around that. I looked you in the eye and you said no." He pointed at her and zipped up his suitcase.

"After you drop this bomb on me that you, Lucas and the baby may have a genetic heart defect!"

Nathan sighed as he took the suit case and placed it on the floor at the foot of the bed.

"It's never going to be enough is it?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that no matter how hard I try or try to do the right thing, I always get screwed. I get it Hales, I'm a screw up. I'm the one who left you, I'm the one who showed up in the middle of the night and knocked you up and left the next day. There's always going to be something Haley. When I found out about the HCM, I wanted to tell you. I found no pleasure in hiding it from you but it doesn't matter anymore. Nothing I do will ever be enough. We take one step forward and two steps back so that's it, I'm done."

"You're done? So now you're breaking up with me."

"No Hales, it means that I'm done trying to plead my case. I love you, I love our son. I.." Nathan scratched his head and headed for the door. "The rest is up to you."

"Nathan, where are you going?"

"To the guest room."

"What? That's ridiculous? Nathan, would you just stay here. We need to talk."

"..."

"Nathan… Nathan.. please don't walk out, you've been doing it all night."

"That's because it keeps me from saying things, you don't want to hear, like _I want to spend my life with you_ or _will you marry me." _Nathan states bluntly and leaves the room.

Nathan slam the door behind him and heads down the hall to the gust room. He steps inside and doesn't bother turning on the lights. He feels anger, hurt, everything. He tosses his shirt aside and kicks off his jeans and drops on to the bed. He lies there, just staring at the ceiling. After a couple of minutes, he could've sworn that he hears the faint sounds of Haley crying from down the hall. Everything in him wants nothing more than to get up and hold her and comfort her but he can't. For once Nathan isn't going to apologize for telling the truth, for admitting his feelings and pouring out his soul.

. . . . .

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you mom." Lucas looks down and takes a sip of the coffee he was drinking. By the time he got back to the café, Brooke and Karen and some of their other friends had already cleaned everything up. Now it was only Brooke, Karen and Lydia at the café and Lucas had come clean to them about the HCM.

"I know you must be disappointed in me." Lucas mutters.

"Luke, I'm not disappointed and you're not a little kid any more."

"I was going to tell you mom, I just wanted to wait until I got all the facts."

"And you're going to hear back soon?" Karen asked.

"Yes."

"No wonder Haley looked so upset." Lydia piped in. "Maybe, I should check up on her. I can post pone my trip."

"Mrs. James, I'm sure that's the last thing Haley wants." Brooke replied.

"Yeah." Lucas agreed. "We know you've been looking forward to this and I'm sure Nathan and Haley will work things out."

"I'll stop by in the morning." Lydia conceded.

"So Nathan asked each of you for you're blessing." Lucas looked between Lydia and Brooke.

"Well, he asked me." Lydia replied.

"And he's going to claim that he didn't ask me but we both know that he was seeking my approval."

"I can't believe he didn't ask me." Lucas didn't mean to come off as bitter but he's not going to lie. So okay, Nathan didn't need to seek his blessing from him, but he thought he would've at least brought it up.

Lydia chuckled. "Don't worry Lucas, I'm sure it wasn't Nathan's intention to ask her tonight.

Brooke nodded her head. "Yeah, I agree."

Lucas clears his throat and notices the garbage bags in the corner waiting to be thrown out. "I'm going to get rid of the rest of the trash." Lucas gets up.

"I should get going too." Lydia stands up.

Brooke on the other hand follows Lucas outside.

"So are you going to tell me how you're really feeling?"

"Brooke, I said I'm fine."

"Bull shit, Scott."

Lucas squints at her for a moment but decides it's no use. "I'm scared Brooke." He finally admits.

"Good cuz so am I." She reaches out to hug him and they hold each other for a good long while.

. . . . . .

Haley cried for a good thirty minutes before changing into a tank top that hugged her belly and a pair of pajamas bottoms. She brushed her teeth and splashed some cold water on her face, hoping that her eyes didn't look so puffy. She managed to pull herself together and walk down the hall and into the guest room. The moonlight shone through the windows and she saw Nathan lying there.

"Are you awake?" She asked softly.

"Yeah." Nathan softly replied.

"Nathan, will you talk to me please?" She took a few steps inside.

"I don't know what to say to you Haley." Nathan continued to look up at the ceiling.

"Nathan.." Haley continued to walk slowly inside.

Nathan leaned up. "You know I never said those words to anyone?"

Haley looked at him curiously.

"I think I may have written down in a card that my first grade teacher made us do for Christmas but I never told anyone else that I love them.. and mean it." Nathan shakes his head frustrated. "God Hales, I asked you to marry me .. twice now."

Haley heard the hurt in his voice. Maybe this was mistake, Haley thought to herself. Maybe she should've given more time to cool off.

"I'm sorry." She said softly and shook her head.

"What?" He asked.

"Look, I'm sorry for bothering you." She shook her head and turned around back to the door.

"Hales." Nathan sighs.

This time Haley can't hold her emotions and her feet takes her back to the bed and she crawls on top of Nathan, her growing belly descending on him first as she tried to hug him and Nathan reluctantly opens his arms up to her.

"Nathan, I'm sorry." She says softly as she placed soft kisses on the side of his face and then on his lips.

But Nathan snaps out of it and as gently as he could rolls her off to her side and off of him. Feeling hurt and rejected, Haley thinks this is just one big mistake and is about to get off the bed when Nathan reaches for her hands and looks at her.

"When we were in high school Hales, the night we made love for the first time. I asked you to marry me and I meant it. I knew you thought we were too young but the next day, I looked it up, if your parents would agree to it, we could've gotten married."

"You didn't tell me this."

"But you also made a point that I needed to show a judge that I could take care of myself and getting married at 17 would've sent me right back with my parents. So I decided to wait, until we were both legal and done with school.." Nathan trailed off.

"But Duke didn't work out.."

Nathan nodded. "Nathan, I know I said no but that doesn't mean I don't love you or that I don't want to be with you." Haley needed to get that out.

Nathan settles back down into his pillow. "Thanks for telling me." He sighs.

"Nathan.."

"Shh.." Nathan pleads. "Hales, if you don't mind, I don't want to talk about this now. I don't.. I don't have it in me and it's late and the baby needs you to rest."

"I can't sleep with out you." Haley admits.

"Who say's you're going to?" Nathan gives her a small smile and despite himself, he reaches out to her and pulls her close to him. She buries her head against his neck and he holds her tight, rubbing her back and lulling her to sleep.

"I'm not going anywhere." He says softly and kisses the top of her head.

Haley feels comforted by his words and his touch. Despite the fact that her mind is racing a mile a minute, her body is exhausted. It takes a couple of minutes but he feels her breathing grow steady and notices that she finally fell asleep. He closes his eyes and tries to do the same thing but sleep wouldn't come. He had the girl of his dreams in his arms, their son growing in her but he never felt further from her. So he lays his head down and continues to stare up.

After an hour, Nathan is still wide awake. He's more restless than ever and he slowly gets up but is careful not to wake Haley. He walks into the bathroom in the hallway and turns on the sink and bring his hands up to drink in some water. He's too lazy at the moment to go downstairs to the kitchen to get something to drink. He looks at the tub and thinks that maybe a nice warm shower can lull him to sleep. He frowns when he realizes that he didn't fill the guest bath with any toiletries so he gets out and goes back to the master suite and into his bathroom.

Stepping inside the spacious shower, he turns on the water and lets the warm water rain over him. He has to admit that the warm waters is having a soothing affect on him and he just stands there with his head down taking it all in. He reaches for his bar of soap and starts to lather himself when he feels a pair of hands encircle his waist. Startled for a second, he turns around and finds Haley standing there, wet and naked in all her glory.

He makes an attempt to speak but is silenced by Haley who takes the soap and starts lathering him up. At the moment, he forgets what he is about to say as Haley's touches is driving him wild and his now fully hard erection can attest. Haley takes her time as she lathers the soap in her hands and washes her hands over his chest, paying close attention to each of his nipples and then down his stomach and onto his abs. When she grabs his erection, he inwardly gasps and buckles at her touch.

Haley still looks stunning, even pregnant, her body has filled out, her breasts spewing out and her curves more defined. He reaches out to touch her and within seconds, their bodies mesh and Nathan is kissing her breathless. Feeling her protruding belly against his abs, Nathan tries to think of the best approach to do this. While taking her against the wall is always number one in his book, he wants to make sure Haley is comfortable. So he guides her down while he sit on the shower floor and leans back against the wall. Haley straddles him as his hands are firmly on her waist, guiding her down on his painful erection.

Once contact is made, they both cry out in pleasure as Nathan takes a firm hold of her ass and sways his hips up and down. Haley leans forward and buries her face in Nathan's neck as she grinds his body against his. Their rhythm speeds up and Haley locks lips with Nathan as she feels her body going over the edge. His thrusts are more powerful and Haley doesn't know who wants it more, him or her but at the moment she doesn't care. She braces herself against his shoulders and slams even harder into him.

"NATHAN!" Haley finally cries out as her insides clench around Nathan's erection. The extra pressure is Nathan's undoing as he releases himself deep inside her. Feeling spent, Haley continues to lie on top of Nathan while they both catch their breathes and the warm waters continue to shower on them.

Eventually, Nathan shifts and guides Haley up to her feet. Nathan turns off the water and reaches for a towel and dries Haley off. He hands her her robe and then dries himself off. Taking her hand, he guides them back to their room, where Nathan takes off his towel and reaches for a pair of clean boxers. He takes one of his t-shirts and slips it over Haley.

Haley follows Nathan's lead and joins him in bed and it is Nathan who first breaks the silence.

"I couldn't sleep." He mutters.

"I woke up when I didn't find you next to me.. I was scared you left." Haley said softly.

"I told you I wasn't going anywhere."

"Even if I break your heart."

Nathan gives her a small smile and caresses her cheek. "A broken heart would be better than not having you in my life." He admits. After everything that has happened between them tonight and for the past couple of years, it doesn't change the fact that he loves her, wants her and just simply needs her. "I'm sorry about earlier." He mutters.

"Nathan, I need to explain."

"Haley, you don't." Nathan sits up. "I lied to you about the HCM, I told you I wouldn't do that any more and I did."

"Nathan, it's not just that. I'm not going to lie and say I didn't feel hurt because I did. Not only did you lie to me but Lucas did as well. In the past five years, I had my heart broken, my father die and my mom nearly die of cancer. I wake up one morning and I find out that you've been thrown out of a window and paralyzed. Now I'm pregnant and you tell me that you might have a heart condition. One that kills athletes and you don't think that affects me." Haley replies. "Do you know what would happen to me if something were to happen to you?" Haley nearly voice cracking.

"Haley, nothing is wrong with me. The season is over, I'm not training and I'm going to get the results soon."

"I know that and I know that you and Lucas had good intentions and I do forgive you for that."

"But.."

"But marriage is something else Nathan." Haley pauses to gather her thoughts. "I said no because I wasn't ready."

"I know it came out of nowhere but I'm not asking we get married now."

"I know that but please don't take me saying no to mean that I don't see a life with you."

Nathan bites his tongue.

"Nathan, I mean it. Look.. umm, do you remember when we first started going out and you slept in my room for the first time."

Nathan nodded.

"The next morning, you told me it wasn't about sex between us."

"That when you'd be ready, I would be too." He remembers.

Haley nodded. "And do you remember the next morning after we finally did have sex."

Nathan tries to hide his smirk. He remembers spending all of the next day re-living the previous night.

"Okay, get your head out of the gutter." Haley playfully smacks his chest.

"Hey, you're the one that brought it up and let's not forget that you practically mauled me a couple of minutes ago."

"Anyways.." Haley playfully rolls her eyes. "After we made love, I told you that it made me wonder why we waited so long to finally do it."

Nathan still had a smirk on his face.

"You're great in bed, what can I say." Haley admitted. "Look the point is." Haley emphasized. "We could've had sex earlier and it still would've been great and amazing but I'm grateful we did wait and I'm grateful that you were patient with me because I wasn't ready, no matter how much I may have wanted it. And when we finally did it, there was no doubt or hesitation in my mind. It was special, probably the most special night in my life."

Haley pauses again.

"Nathan when I commit my life.. my whole life with you, I don't want any hesitation or doubt in my mind. Yes, the HCM threw me for a loop but at the same time, I'm not ready to be a wife, at least not yet. Shoot, I'm not even ready to be a mom but I am going to be one pretty soon. We said we were going to take it slow and the next thing I know, we're spending all our time together, we're moving in together and it was so easy to get caught up."

"So now you think moving in was a mistake?"

"No what I'm trying to say is that we've come a long way but marriage isn't something I'm ready for right now. I told you tonight that you need to let me in all the way but the truth is, I need to the same. It's all going by so fast. I need time to have my heart catch up with everything. I need time Nathan. I need time to get used to us again, to get used to me living here, to get to know you again, to know myself again. I've been so lost these past five years and now I'm finally feeling like myself again and I don't want to rush into anything I'm not ready for even though I can see my life with you. Can you understand?"

Nathan pauses for a second. "I may not like it but I understand. I'm ready to start the rest of my life and I want to spend it with you."

"Nathan.."

"But I know you're not ready." Nathan interrupted. "And I can respect that and if you need time then you have it, you can have anything you want because whether I wait another five years or five minutes, my feelings won't change." Nathan caressed her cheeks.

"Thank you." Haley leans over and rests her head on his chest.

"No thank you." Nathan replies. "Shoot, you gave me a second chance Hales and the fact that you're even here with me now.. well.. that's more than I could ask for."

Haley leans up and kisses him on the check before settling back down to his chest.

"We're going to have our happily ever after Nathan. I know it."

_I hope so. _Nathan thinks to himself. He tries to fall asleep with Haley but he's still lying awake. Everything keeps repeating in his head, the breaking of glass and hitting the floor, having his chest hooked up to test machines, the sound of the ring falling after Haley told him no. How could he sleep, for the fear of waking up and everything he ever wanted.. _gone_.

To Be Continued . . . .


	25. What Comes After the Blues

The Search For Something More

Chapter 25 - What Comes After the Blues

Thank you all for the reviews and sticking with me through this story. I hope you all aren't too mad at Haley for saying no. Believe me the wait will be worth it. I'm sorry for not updating sooner but I went out of town and was a little busy. I wish I can say more but I'll let the chapter speak for itself. The next few chapters are definitely going to be interesting and the end is definately in sight, but as far how many chapters is still up in the air. I also wanted to update sooner because we got picked up for our back 9. So happy we're going to get a nice FULL 22 episode season. It looks to be the last one so while I'm sad, I'm eternally grateful for what the show has done to me.

I asked this in a one shot i did recently "Dressing up to Dress down" (check that out if you haven't done so), but I am debating whether or not to go ahead with a Thicker than Blood Sequel. When I wrote the story, I left little "seeds" in the story so if I did do a sequel, I would bring it back but it's been almost two years so I'm not sure anymore. The story definately can stand on it's own though. I bring this up because I feel that I should be honest and say that if the show ends, then I will probably not write any more stories. Maybe the occasional one shot and stuff but a multi chapter story like this, I don't know. It's not for a lack of ideas because I have a bunch but with the show gone, I feel like it wont be the same. With the full season, I know that the show will last until May so I can squeeze probably only one more story. Maybe a short second story but we'll see.

Anyways, enjoy and please review!

* * *

Haley instinctively reached over to the other side of the bed but was surprised when she felt no one was there. Fluttering her eyes open, she saw that the other side of the bed was empty and cold. Haley frowned at the sight but as she saw Nathan emerge from the bathroom, her spirits were raised, but only for a moment.

"Morning." Nathan gave a small smile as he packed in his toiletries in his suit case.

"You're leaving already?" Haley questioned. "I thought your flight wasn't until this afternoon?"

"Clay got into town this morning. We have some business to discuss before I head out to Florida and he then he flies to Philly."

"Oh." Haley looked down.

"I'll be back soon."

"But then you're going to Atlanta." Haley didn't mean to sound so mean. It had been a week since Nathan asked her to marry him and there has been nothing but underlying tension between the two of them. He had already come back from a charity gig in New York and now he's heading to Miami to do a photo shoot and to attend a fund raiser. And if that wasn't enough, he told her that he had another gig to attend to in Atlanta next week.

Nathan gave her a curious look as he zipped up his suit case.

"Nathan." Haley sat up and played with her fingers. "Look, I'm sorry. It's just.. I.. I feel like you're trying to avoid me." Haley looked up at him. "You know, especially after…"

"After I asked you to marry me?" Nathan raised his eyebrow.

Haley nodded.

"Well, I'm not going to lie." Nathan sat on the bed next to her. "I jumped at the chance on going to New York this week to get away."

"And this trip?" Haley asked. "Are you trying to get away from me again?"

"Hales.." Nathan caressed her cheeks. "You're seven months pregnant, I don't want to leave you but I've been neglecting things ever since I moved back.. and by the looks of things, I'm going to need all the good press and money I can get."

"What do you mean?"

"Negotiations with Charlotte has stalled. That incident with Brooke didn't look too well for my image despite the press release Clay put out. Plus all the bad press I got when I hurt my back. They're already weary about my health despite my strong finish with Seattle."

"And what about Seattle? I thought they offered you a contract."

"They have but I need to give them an answer soon. Clay is doing his best to stall, trying to extend when I have to go in for camp because that's when the baby will be born but he can't hold out on them forever."

"Nathan, you should just go back to Seattle."

"I thought we talked about it. I don't want to go back there."

"Nathan." Haley took Nathan's hand in hers. "If you're worried about us, we're going to be fine, the baby too. We can join you there."

"Haley, I can't let you just take care of the baby by yourself, plus it'll take weeks.. months before the baby can even fly out to Seattle."

"Nathan, we can make it work." Haley stated. "We can fly first class and it's not like you're strapped for cash, we can get a private jet or something."

"You're willing to move to Seattle but you won't marry me." Nathan bit out, then quickly shut his mouth and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

Haley removed her hand from Nathan's. "Yes you did." Haley got up and reached for her robe that was on a nearby chair.

"I knew it, you're still upset about the proposal."

"I'm sorry Hales, but what do you want me to do? Lie to you, of course I'm upset."

"And now you're avoiding me."

"I just told you I'm not avoiding you. In fact, everything I've been doing is trying to get me back to Tree Hill to be with you."

"I told you Nathan, I can go to Seattle."

"Did it ever occur to you that I don't want to go back there? The past five years, all I've been doing is running away from my past.. my home. Now that I'm back I don't want to leave. You're here, Lucas is here. Seattle was never my home Hales, this is home and if I can stay here, then I'm going to do everything I can."

"Nathan, I don't want anything to happen to your career. You worked so hard, even coming back from your injury."

"I appreciate it Hales but it might all be for nothing anyways. If people want to pay me money to film me drinking some sports drink or shooting around then I need to cash in on it now because no one will want me if they find out I have HCM."

"Don't talk like that Nathan." Haley warned. "You don't know the results."

"It's a fifty/fifty chance Hales, I'm just trying to be prepared."

Haley shook her head and wiped her eyes.

"Hey come here." Nathan took her into her arms. This is exactly why he didn't want to tell Haley about the HCM.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be a mess but I miss you when you're gone." Haley placed her hand over Nathan's heart. "And the thought.. that this might be damaged.." Haley shook her head and sniffled.

Nathan placed his hand over her's. "Nothing is wrong with my heart Hales because you fixed it.. you made it whole again and HCM or not, nothing's going to change that."

Haley looked up at him and could feel herself turning red. "It's beating so fast." Haley commented as she felt the rhythm of his heart beat.

"Well that's what happens ever time I'm with you."

Haley looked away as she was sure she was blushing red at the moment. It's amazing how Nathan can still make her feel like a giddy sixteen year old who's fallen in love for the first time.

"Look, I'm sorry Hales, with every thing that's happened…"

"Nathan, I'm sorry too. We both have a lot going on."

"Look, tell you what. I have nothing booked after Atlanta and I'll tell Clay that if something comes up that I'll only do something local or some place that's quick flight from Tree Hill, no more over night trips. Besides once you reach full term, I'm definitely not going anywhere."

"Thank you." She tip toed up to kiss him on the cheeks. "And what about your test results?"

"We can hear something any day now but once I find out, you'll find out, okay?"

"Okay." Haley hugged him. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too." Nathan hugged her back. "Both of you."

. . . . .

"Where the hell have you been?" Nathan questioned as he looked at his watch.

"Sorry I got held up." Clay took a seat opposite to Nathan.

"What can I get you boys?" Karen came up to them.

"Hey Karen, I don't know if you've met my agent Clay. Clay this is Lucas' mom Karen."

"Oh this is Clay. Nice to meet you." Karen stuck out her hand.

"Likewise." Clay shook her hand.

"Haley was right you are cute."

"Oh thanks." Clay smiled.

"Hey." Nathan warned.

Karen laughed. "I'm just teasing, Nathan."

Nathan gave her a curious look. "I'll just have a coffee."

"Same." Clay replied.

A minute later, Karen returned with their coffees before attending to the other customers at the café.

"So what was the hold up? I thought you got in early this morning?"

"I was driving around town and I went to get this." Clay held up a small plastic bag.

"Comic books? What are you ten?"

Clay gasped. "Nate, this is X-Men issue #17. This baby is a classic."

"Well is it worth much cuz I'm kind need money to support a family especially since I don't have a contract."

"Don't be dramatic Nate, I know how much you have in your bank account. You and Haley won't be ending up on the streets any time soon."

"Whatever man, so what's up with Charlotte."

"Like I told you, it can go either way. They like you but they are worried about your back and the press surrounding you. But the good news is that the charity functions you're attending are making headlines, not top headlines but good press is better than no press and with your back, I already told them that you'll go through a thorough physical with any doctors they choose. I also talked to one of the owners and he was born and bred in North Carolina, helped bring a team to the state so the fact that you're a local boy is helping us but time is not on our side."

"Look Clay, if it comes down to the wire, give the green light to Seattle. I don't want to go but right now that's my only option." Nathan grabbed a manila envelope from his bookbag and handed it to Clay. "I signed it but submit it only at the last possible moment Clay."

"I understand." Clay took it from Nathan.

"And after Atlanta, I don't want to go anywhere far and no over night trips. The baby is getting bigger and I don't like leaving Haley alone too long."

"Understood. I'll send you the list of events coming up and you let me know which ones you can go to." Clay pulled out his blackberry. "There is something else. Something I want to show you."

Clay handed Nathan his phone.

Nathan chuckled. "Clay, I really don't need to see who you hooked up with last night."

"Well, she is hot in that, _I'll fuck her and leave her type_ but dude no. This is her. Rachel."

"Rachel?" Nathan questioned. "Wait, that Rachel? The one that tried to blackmail me?"

"Yeah. On my way to the comic store, I passed by this thrift store and saw her there. I took some shots of her but I think the bitch saw me and she took off before I could do anything."

"Well at least we have a face."

"Yeah, Skills and I tried to figure out who she was but we couldn't get anything on her until now."

"Great, this bitch is local then if you saw her in Tree Hill. See what you and Skills can dig up, I'm going to see if the Police Chief of Tree Hull can help us out. The last thing I need is some phycho bitch trying to take advantage of me."

"I didn't know you had that kind of pull around here."

"Well, it helps if your dad is the mayor." Nathan paused. "And I think it's time to pay daddy a visit."

. . . . . .

"Hi I'd like to see Dan Scott."

"I'm sorry sir but.." Renee looked up from her desk and was startled. "Nathan.." She accidentally blurted out.

Nathan eyed her curiously. "Yes, I'm his son but I guess you know that." Nathan had a weird sense of déjà vu. The last time he was in here, he stormed through the office to see his dad but he had a feeling he'd seen her before. Tree Hill isn't the biggest town so there was always a decent chance that their paths have crossed before.

"I'm sorry but have we met?" Nathan asked.

"No.. not.. formally." Renee tried to put on a smile. "But I'm a big fan. The Sonics is one of my favorite teams."

"Oh, thanks."

"You're dad is in his office." Renee pointed to his office. "You can go on ahead."

"Thanks." Nathan smiled politely and headed towards his dad's office.

Nathan reached the large wooden door and knocked.

"Come in."

Nathan stepped inside.

"Nathan." Dan was surprised. "I wasn't expecting you. How are you? How's the baby?"

"Good on all counts."

"I haven't heard from you and your brother since the camping trip."

"The baby is fine Dad. We got him tested. Lucas and I are still waiting back on our results."

"Look son, I'm sorry about everything."

"Dad, I know and for once, the HCM isn't your fault. At least not entirely, well you know what I mean."

"I heard from Keith. He doesn't have it."

"Yeah Lucas told me."

"How is your brother?"

"Dad, please don't."

"Nathan.. I .."

"Dad, you had 23 years to get to know Luke and if I listened to you back in high school, he would still be a stranger to me."

"Look Nathan, all I can say is sorry.. to both of you."

"Dad, I'm not here to hash out old wounds."

"Fair enough."

"What's up with you? How's your heart?" Nathan asked.

"Degenerating." Dan replied. "I'm on the list for a new heart. If they find a match, I have a chance, if not."

"Look Dad after everything.. despite everything that's happened, I don't want to see you die. I'm going to be a dad soon and I just can't keep carrying this weight around me when it comes to you.. it's just exhausting."

"I know I've been a lousy dad Nathan but I know you're going to be a great one. I hope that one day you might even let me meet him."

"Maybe." Nathan replied vaguely. "But since you care for me and the baby so much, I actually have a favor to ask you."

"Anything."

Nathan reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone and handed it to Dan. "A while back, I had some one try to blackmail me. Rachel, I don't even know if it's her real name."

Dan eyed the picture carefully. "What do you mean blackmail?"

"She some how found out about Haley and the baby and threatened to take it to the press but I beat her to it and announced it myself. Anyways, I tried to get more info on her but nothing came up. My agent saw her this morning and so I'm hoping if you can find something out?"

"I'll see what I can do." Dan handed Nathan back his phone. Nathan pressed a few keys on his phone before putting it back in his pocket.

"I texted you the photos, just let me know."

"Don't worry Nathan, I'll handle this."

Nathan nodded. "Thanks Dad." Nathan cleared his throat. "Look I got to get going."

"Yeah, I understand… umm.. Thanks for coming to me with this, Nathan."

Nathan nodded before heading out.

. . . . .

Lucas dribbled the ball and took a step back to be in three point territory before making the shot. It hit the rim but unfortunately, it didn't make it in. Before Lucas can run over to grab the ball, Nathan came out of nowhere and got it from him.

"Someone's a little rusty."

Lucas shrugged. "Yeah."

Nathan dribbled it a few times and took a few steps towards Lucas. "It's like this." Nathan stood with his back towards the basket, and with out a second look back, Nathan threw the ball behind him.

Lucas squinted at him and cocked his head to the side as the ball went in.

"Shouldn't you be heading out of town?"

"I'm on my way out. I haven't heard from you in a while."

"Still no word about the HCM test."

"Okay but what you been up to?" Nathan asked.

"Been busy."

"You're mad at me. I get it, but I've always been a better player than you despite the fact you beat me that one time." Nathan chuckled but Lucas didn't look amused. "Look, Luke, I don't know why you're so mad here, you're the one who told Haley about the test."

Lucas continued to squint at him.

"Alright so I went to see Mrs. James and then there was Brooke with the ring.. but I needed to talk to Mrs. James and Brooke's a girl and I needed help with jewelry. I was going to talk to you about it."

"Right, I mean I'm only Haley's best friend.. the reason why you went after her in the first place."

"Luke, stop being a girl."

"Stop acting like a jerk."

"It wasn't like I planned on asking her. It just happened."

"Well, look how great that worked out."

"Whatever man. The girl I love refuses to marry me, yet I look like the bad guy."

"Well running away from Haley doesn't make you a good guy either."

"I'm not running away."

"You better not be, my promise still holds true you know, I'll still kick your ass if you hurt her."

"Noted." Nathan chuckled. "I have this trip and another one in Atlanta and that's it, I'm taking it easy to be there for Haley and the baby."

Lucas nodded. He'd been on edge ever since he admitted his HCM to Brooke and his mom. Telling someone else about it, outside of Nathan, made it feel even more real. "Actually, I don't blame you for going away. I've been feeling the same. The waiting and everything that's been going on." Lucas sighed.

"Is this why you're out here by yourself?"

Lucas nodded. "Helps me clear my head."

"Why don't you go with me?" Nathan proposed.

"Right now?"

"Well, it's cutting it close but come with Clay and I to Atlanta next week."

"Atlanta huh?"

"Yeah, charity event and it'd be good to be seen with my brother. I could use some good press, so what you say?"

"And I could use the distraction. I'm game."

"Cool, I'll tell Clay to set it up. Look, there's something else I wanted you to know."

"What?"

"I saw Dan today."

"Dan?"

"This is the girl who tried blackmailing me." Nathan pulled out his phone. "Have you seen her? Clay saw her today and I went to Dan to see if he can do something for me."

"Can't say I have but I can't believe you went to Dan. Are you sure you want him to get involved? Shoot, I wouldn't hold it pass him if Rachel was working for him."

"Dan is a lot of things but I don't think he'll go that low. Besides what would he gain from trying to black mail me?"

"With Dan you never know."

"He's dying Luke and I think he is trying to make amends. There was a time when he wasn't a monster.. a long time ago but maybe with him nearing the end, you know he's trying to make up for it."

"Maybe but I don't trust him."

Nathan nodded. "I don't either but I owe it to him to at least give it a shot. He wants to meet the baby after he's born. Normally, I would've say no but if he's dying, I mean how can I say no to that? Plus he's the mayor, I figure, he has the most connections in this town and the last thing I want is some crazy bitch ready to take advantage of me."

Lucas nodded back. "I've actually been thinking about Dan. This whole waiting game with the HCM is just fucking with my brain."

"Tell me about it." Nathan sighed. "He needs a heart transplant. If he doesn't get one then he's gone."

Lucas looked down. "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about that. He may be my biological Dad but he's not my father."

"I don't think there is a right or wrong way to feel."

Lucas nodded.

"Look for what it's worth look, I think you got the better end of the deal."

"For what it's worth I think both of us got a raw deal." Lucas smirked.

"Can't argue there." Nathan grabbed the basketball land took another shot.

. . . . .

"Come on Hales, let's go." Peyton stood in front of Haley and held her hands out for Haley to grab.

"I don't feel like going out." Haley whined.

"Hales.."

"Give me a break Peyton, my feet are swollen and this couch feels so good." Haley leaned back and hugged a throw pillow.

"Fine." Peyton gave up. "But you've been moping around the house all day. It's a beautiful day out."

"Yeah, I'm just not up for it." Haley shrugged.

"So what is it?" Peyton sat down next to Haley.

"I'm assuming you talked to Brooke."

Peyton nodded.

"How are you Hales?"

"If I say I'm fine, will you believe me?"

"Probably not." Peyton gave a warm smile. Peyton was back in town to visit her father and felt bad for missing out last week for Lydia's birthday. Turns out that she missed a lot.

"I don't know what's wrong with me." Haley threw her head back and put her foot up on the coffee table. "I love Nathan and I know he loves me.. and I know he would never do anything to hurt me but.."

"But you still can't say yes?"

Haley nodded.

"There was a time when I believed that too and looked what happened." Haley sighed. "It's like I can picture a life with him you know, I've had that image in my head since I was in high school."

"So what's holding you back?"

"I'm not ready to be a wife." Haley replied. "At least that's what I thought last week."

"And maybe you're ready now?"

Haley shook her head. "I can't bring myself to yes.. at least not now. Does that make me a bad person? Am I just leading Nathan on?"

"Hales, you've been through a lot.. both of you have." Peyton answered. "I think both of you.. especially you, just need some time."

"That's what I thought but Nathan is gone half the time now and I miss him and I can still see the look on his face. I've never seen him so hurt."

"Marrying Nathan because you feel guilty is not a good reason to marry him."

"I know." Haley sighed. "Sometime I wish he just didn't ask me you know, we were doing so great."

"And what about the other times?"

"Then a part of me is happy he asked. It makes me know how serious he is about everything because five years ago he bailed on me just like that."

"Are you still mad at him for leaving you?"

"Maybe I am punishing him. When Nathan came back to town and I gave him hell, and a part of me couldn't but he happy to see him suffer but now I think I'm just hurting the both of us."

"Look Hales, when you're ready, it'll come to you. And from what Brooke told me, it seemed like it was a spur of the moment."

"Yeah, Brooke helped get the ring. I couldn't even bring my self to look at it."

"Where is the ring?"

"It's in my purse." Haley motioned to her purse that was on a nearby chair.

Peyton immediately got up and rummaged through the purse.

"Peyton, what're you doing?"

"You may not be ready to see this ring but I want to see the rock Brooke picked out."

"Peyton!"

"Oh come on Hales, indulge me." Peyton pulled out the small velvet black box. "Besides, I remember how the ring looks, I just want to see how it looks with the bigger diamond. You know drop Jake some hints just in case." Peyton winked and took her seat next to Haley.

"Wait, what're you talking about? Did you help Nathan get the ring too?"

"Hales, I was with you when you picked it out."

Haley gave her a confused look.

"Oh my God, Nathan didn't tell you? Brooke didn't?"

"Tell me what?"

"He's been carrying around with him for five years."

"What're you talking about?"

"He bought the ring in high school, Hales. He just asked Brooke to exchange the rock."

"What?" Haley grabbed the box from Peyton and opened it with a small gasp.

_. . . ._

_Peyton nudged her shoulder against Brooke._

"_What?" Brooke asked and then followed her line of sight to Haley. _

_Slowly, the two girls made their way over to Haley._

"_What you looking at?" Brooke asked and Haley jumped in surprise._

"_Nothing." Haley quickly replied. _

"_That ring didn't look like nothing." Peyton quipped._

"_Oh Miss." Brooke waved her hand to get the clerk's attention. "We'd like to see this ring." _

"_Sure." The clerk replied and opened the glass case._

"_Guys, what're you doing?"_

"_Oh come on Hales." Brooke egged on. "Think of it as a glimpse into the future." _

"_Don't think we didn't see you space out on that ring." Peyton added._

"_Why Haley James.. or is it Haley James soon to be Scott?" Brooke teased._

"_Guys quit it." Haley blushed. _

"_Look Hales, you two have been hot and heavy for a year now. Don't act like you haven't thought about it." _

"_I don't know what you're talking about." Haley put the ring on._

"_I'd got for a bigger rock but it does look nice." Brooke commented. "Maybe if you're good Santa will leave it in your stockings this Christmas." Brooke winked._

"_I'm just think it looks nice, I mean what girl wouldn't." Haley replied._

"_You're not fooling everyone Hales." Peyton added._

"_I just called dibs on making the dress." Brooke announced._

"_You guys are not bad. Nathan and I aren't getting married. We're still in high school."_

"_Yeah but aren't you planning on going to the same school?" Peyton asked. "You can honestly tell me you haven't thought about it."_

"_Yeah tutor-bride?"_

"_Fine." Haley gave in. "Of course I thought about it. I mean you seen how Nathan is." Haley sighed as she held the ring up. "It would be at the garden next to the church my parents got married. They'd be flowers everywhere and I don't want the traditional wedding song going down the isle, maybe someone singing on a piano."_

"_Aww." Brooke leaned against Peyton's shoulder. _

"_Oh yeah, she has it bad." Peyton turned to Brooke._

"_It's just a thought." Haley took the ring off. "Who knows if it'll really happen."_

"_That tattoo on your ass begs to differ." Brooke replied. "You're in it for the long haul Hales, not this whole high school sweethearts break up after graduation."_

"_Yeah Hales, if there's anything I know for sure about you two after we graduate, you guys will be together." Peyton added._

"_I wouldn't object to that." Haley couldn't hold back her smile and blushed. _

. . . .

Haley turned to Peyton, a stray tear rolling down her face. "I can't believe he's had this the whole time."

* * *

Dan leaned back in his chair and cracked his knuckles. He'd spent the whole afternoon doing paperwork and signing documents. With his HCM, he's trying to get as much done before it gets too much for him and he has to resign. He looked outside the window and notice how dark it was getting. Time really flew by today. He checked his phone and his e-mail and he heard nothing back from the police department. He wondered if they had any leads on the girl that was tried to blackmail his son.

"Renee." Dan hit the intercom. "Do I have any messages?… Renee?"

Dan got up from his desk and walked outside his office and noticed that Renee wasn't there. Maybe she left for the day he thought. He looked at her desk; she usually had a little memo pad where she wrote down any messages. He looked down on it and saw that none of the messages were too important. He could deal with that tomorrow. He put the pad down next to a photo frame that was on her desk. He was about to walk away but stopped and took a closer look at the picture. He noticed Renee and another girl with her, a red head with their arms around each other. Dan gritted his teeth and stared at the photo long and hard before slamming the photo frame back down onto the desk, cracking the glass enclosure.

To Be Continued . . . .


	26. Lifetime Piling Up

The Search For Something More

Chapter 26 – Lifetime Piling Up

Thank you all for reading last chapter and leaving a review. I always planned on having Haley say no when Nathan asked her to marry him. I think it's right given everything that's happening plus it gives Haley time to consider her feelings and what she wants. Gosh I have so much to say but I'm just going to let the chapter do the talking. I was suppose to update last night but I got home too late. There's a lot that happens in here and I ask you to just read through it all. I already got most of next chapter written up so drop me some love and maybe I'll update sooner rather than later.

P.S. New OTH tom yay!

Enjoy and please review!

* * *

Despite herself, Haley couldn't suppress her laughter as her and Nathan entered the house. They just came from one of their baby parenting classes Haley signed them up for and Nathan had been non-stop complaining ever since they left.

"I tell you that instructor has it in for me."

"Nathan.."

"And what the hell is up with her name.. Carrie?" Nathan rolled his eyes. "I'd like to _carry_ her up against my fist." Nathan mumbled under his breath.

"Nathan, you put the diaper on backwards, she was just correcting you."

"More like being condescending." Nathan quickly replied. "Did you see the way she looked at me when she realized who I was?" Nathan headed for the fridge to get a bottle of water.

"It's not my fault she went to Pontiac and we … no _I_ beat them for the state championship five years ago."

"And she's probably not a Sonics fan either." Haley quipped.

"Exactly, you see it too."

Haley laughed. "Nathan, she was just making a comment."

"Like the comment she made about how I held that stupid cabbage patch doll."

"Nathan, baby's necks are fragile, you have to support it."

"I was supporting it."

"Like you were going to dribble it and make a free shot."

"Free throw." Nathan corrected.

"Oh whatever." Haley grabbed a bottle of water from Nathan's hands.

"So great, you also think that I can't change a diaper or hold my own son." Nathan sighed in frustration.

"I didn't say that."

"But you think that too." Nathan replied. "I mean you were the star pupil of the class. Don't think I didn't see you give the Henderson's help with their diaper when I left to go to the rest room."

"Nathan, did I not tell you how many nephews and nieces I have."

"Well at least one of us will be competent."

"Nathan, it was just one class. You did fine. If you need help, I can help you out next time."

"Great, you tutored me in high school now you're tutoring me all over again."

"Nathan." Haley said in a stern voice and put her hands on his arms. "Listen to me, you're doing great. You've had no experience with kids before, it's only natural to make mistakes, that's why we took the class.. believe it or not, I'm not perfect either."

"Not.. by the way." Nathan gave a small smile. "Thanks by the way.. I guess I'm just nervous."

"You have nothing to be worried about Nathan, you're going to be a great father." Haley said warmly.

"How do you do that?" Nathan asked.

"Do what?"

"I don't know.. you just make me feel.." Nathan's voice trailed off as he gave her a warm smile. How could he put into words how he made her feel, there were no words.

Haley blushed under his intense gaze.

"Makes me want to ask you to marry me all over again." Nathan joked but his smile fell when she saw her tense up.

"Too soon?"

Haley gave him a tight smile.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Nathan, it's okay." Haley tip toed up and gave him a kiss on the cheeks. The last thing she wanted was for things to be awkward again. When Nathan came back from Florida, he made a better effort to not let the failed proposal weigh down on him. Things were finally getting back to normal with them but if Haley were to be honest with herself, she knew that things were definitely not "_normal_." With Nathan, it's never as simple as that.

Haley still wasn't sure how she should feel about the ring and the fact that Nathan had gotten it while they were in high school. On one hand, she was thrilled, the other got her confused and angry. Nathan had the ring this whole time yet he still left her. She's been trying to move on from her past but the past keeps resurfacing. While she had forgiven him, there was a part of her that will never forget, a part of her that continues to cast doubts into her mind.

"So how long do I have you?" Haley cleared her throat and her mind.

"I got to get packing now and then Clay is going to pick me and Lucas up."

"It's nice that Lucas is joining you."

"And you're fine with us road tripping it to Atlanta?" Nathan asked.

"I'll be fine, besides Clay seemed really excited to drive that new car he got."

"It's some vintage sports car, it better not break down on us." Nathan replied. "Maybe we should just fly there."

"It's fine Nathan, plus Lucas seemed excited about it. Luke's also had a lot going on too. I think it's a good idea. And Brooke will be here so I won't be alone."

"Okay." Nathan nodded.

"But you are not allowed to be late for your own baby shower."

"Umm.. baby shower?" Nathan tried to play it off.

"Don't act dumb Scott."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please, with the way Brooke has been hounding me to keep Friday free, as if I had plans on Friday, and then talking about taking me shopping in the morning for a new killer outfit, it doesn't take a genius to know what's going on."

"But that's just Brooke Hales."

"Plus I totally peeked into Karen's calendar and saw this Friday marked off as _Nathan and Haley's Baby shower_."

"That's cheating Hales."

"I promise I will act surprise." Haley replied.

"Yeah, Brooke's been hounding me about it too. Apparently if I'm late from Atlanta, my kid will grow up father-less."

"Well that's Brooke for you." Haley laughed.

"But isn't a baby shower a chick thing anyways."

"Nathan, we get to open a bunch of presents."

"Right." Nathan replied dryly.

"And with whatever Brooke has planned, I'm not suffering through it alone. Don't forget that this is your fault." Haley teased as she rubbed her belly.

"Don't worry, I'll be there. But the gift part should be fun. We still have a lot of things left for the baby room."

. . . . . . .

Nathan went through his suitcase to make sure he had everything he needed. He packed light because they should be in Atlanta tonight, tomorrow they'll have the day to themselves and then they are driving straight from the charity function back to Tree Hill to make sure Nathan was back for the shower. He looked at his watch and noticed that Clay should be coming in a couple of minutes. He zipped up his suit case and reached into his pockets. He looked at the dresser and the top drawer on his night stand and couldn't find his wallet.

"Hales, have you seen my wallet?" Nathan called out. "I gave it to you right?"

Haley was in their bathroom brushing her teeth. Haley took out the tooth brush from her mouth. "Yeah, I put it in my bag."

Nathan looked around and saw Haley's purse on a nearby chair. He opened it up and started rummaging through it. He passed by keys, her wallet, check book.. _damn what else does she have in here?_ He thought to himself. He finally spotted his wallet at the bottom of the large purse but that's not the only thing he spotted.

Haley stepped out of the bathroom, "Did you find it?"

Nathan whipped his head around and had the wallet in one hand and the box for the ring on the other.

"Guess you found it." Haley mumbled as she took a seat on the bed.

"Among other things." Nathan replied back. "I've been meaning to ask what happened to it." Nathan said softly as memories of that night came back to him.

"Are you okay Nathan?" Haley inquired. She could tell that he was in deep thought.

"You love me right?" Nathan asked.

"Of course I do Nathan. I told you, me saying no doesn't mean that I don't."

"I know.. I just.. I'm just trying to move on from it." Nathan replied and handed the small box to Haley. "It's your's Hales, whether you say yes or no.. this belongs with you."

"Nathan." Haley cleared her throat. "How come you didn't tell me you bought the ring when we were still in high school?"

"Didn't think it mattered." Nathan replied back.

Haley looked down. "I wish you would've told me." Haley replied a moment later.

"Would it have made a difference?" Nathan asked.

"…"

"Yeah, thought so." Nathan got up. "Clay should be here any minute."

"You know Nathan, I've been wrestling with myself ever since I found out about the ring. Part me wants to kiss you senseless.. the other part is .. hurt."

Nathan raised an eyebrow.

"Nathan, you bought a ring but you still left me." Haley looked up to him.

"I thought we went through this."

"We did, I just didn't know all the facts."

"Hales, I made a mistake.. I thought I was doing the right thing."

"I know that but you had this ring and you still left. It's so easy for you to commit yourself over to me but just as quickly, you can cut me off."

"Haley, don't think that leaving you five years ago was anything but easy. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do."

"I know that and I'm really trying to get passed it Nathan. I really am but I can't help what I feel." Haley sniffled. Haley had the box in her hands and Nathan kneeled down in front of her and placed his hand over her's, clenching the box. He looked up at her in the eye.

"Hales, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I've wanted to do that since the night I first asked you to marry me. Nothing has changed. I left you because I thought I was doing the right thing by you, you already gave up Stanford to go to Duke and I couldn't let you do that again and follow me to Maryland but you know all this already. I know now that it was wrong. I'm sorry I don't know how many times I can say that.. or show you how sorry I am .. or show you that I won't leave you, that I love you and I want to spend my life with you and our son… I'm not offering you a ring Haley, I'm offering you a lifetime together." He took her hand and brought to his lips and then placed it over his heart. "You have my heart Hales, you have all of me… the good.. the bad .. and if that's not enough for you.. then maybe I'm not enough for you."

Haley blinked away the tears that were threatening to escape. Nathan's cell phone started going off and they heard the sound of car honking it's horn.

"Clay's here." Nathan got up and let go of Haley. "I love you Hales… I'll see you Friday." Nathan kissed the top of her forehead and gently rubbed her belly before taking off.

Haley heard the front door slam shut. "I love you too." Haley said softly.

* * *

"Enjoying yourself?" Clay asked as he came up to Nathan and handed him a drink.

"Oh thank God." Nathan took the drink and took a hefty gulp.

"Easy there, Nate." Clay warned softly. "Don't want to get thrown out of a window tonight."

"Well at least, we're in a room full of surgeons." Nathan replied. Nathan tried his best to get in the spirit of things. This was actually a charity that was near and dear to his heart. If it wasn't for the Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, Nathan would probably still be in a wheel chair. They had their annual gala a few months ago where Nathan showed up with Alex. Tonight's event wasn't as fancy, no black tie required but everyone was still dressed in suits and dresses. Tonight was a silent auction and dinner. Nathan contributed a couple of autograph memorabilia. He was genuinely happy to be hear but like always his mind drifted back to Haley and his unborn son.

"Too bad none of them are plastic surgeons to make you look sexy like me." Quentin came up to Nathan.

"Q? I didn't think you were coming." Nathan smiled and hugged his old friend and mentor. "Where's Faith?" Nathan asked as Clay and Q also exchanged pleasantries.

"She's back home. Andre got sick and then so did she."

"Oh that sucks." Clay replied.

"Yeah tell me about it, I missed my flight because I was waiting for Faith's sister to come take care of them."

Just then Clay's phone started to ring. Clay looked down and saw who was calling, "If you excuse me." Clay excused himself to get some privacy.

"So how you doing playa?"

"Good." Nathan replied.

"You don't sound so good."

"Just dealing with stuff."

"Oh I know." Q replied. "Believe me, when Faith was pregnant with Andre I was scared shit. Don't worry man, it's going to be fine."

"Yeah.. you're right."

"What's wrong man? I thought you and Haley moved in together."

"Yeah but we sort of took a turn for the worst.. I think."

"What you mean?"

"I asked her to marry me.. she said no."

"Ouch." Q felt bad. "I'm sorry man."

"Thanks, I mean she said she's not ready.. whatever that means."

"Look from what you told me, you guys will get through it."

"Thanks." Nathan replied. "Oh I completely forgot. Have you met my brother?" Nathan changed topics. He didn't feel like getting into this now.

"No I haven't. You know Scott, one minute you're this single bachelor, next thing I know, you got a girl and a kid on the way, now you have a brother.. you're like a whole new man."

Nathan laughed. "I was hiding from my past.. but now."

"Now what?"

"I'm not hiding." Nathan smirked and motioned Q to follow him. Nathan looked around and saw Lucas talking to a group of people. Lucas spotted Nathan and instantly recognized Quentin Fields. He was a Sonics legend and one of Lucas' favorite players.

"Thank you so much for talking to me Dr. Riley."

"No problem and here's the card to that cardiologist I talked to you about." Dr. Riley handed him a card.

"Thanks so much." Lucas replied politely and excused himself before making his way over to his brother.

. . . . .

"There you are." Nathan stepped outside and saw Clay leaning over the balcony. "You should see Lucas, he's like star struck right now. I think he developed a crush on Q."

Clay turned around with a serious expression.

"Clay, what's wrong?" Nathan asked.

Clay looked around to make sure no one was around. "Look, I just got off the phone with Charlotte."

"Oh. What happened?" Nathan asked.

Clay shook his head.

"They just signed Derick McDaniel, apparently it was a back door deal the Bobcats were doing, which was why they stalled in giving us an answer. They capped out Nate. Their roster's locked."

"Shit." Nathan gritted through his teeth and put his hands on the ledge.

"Nate, I'm so sorry."

"Look, it's not your fault. You didn't know. So what now Clay?"

"We still have a contract with the Sonics."

"I don't know what to do." Nathan replied honestly.

"Look you said it yourself, Haley is fine with you going back to Seattle. I know you don't want to go back but this is your only option."

Nathan sighed and looked up and saw that the once clear sky was now cloudy. Even dark, Nathan could tell that a storm was coming. Nathan sighed, it felt very fitting at the moment.

"You still have the contract I signed with the Sonics?" Nathan asked after a minute of silence.

* * *

Haley lied awake for the second straight night in a row. She turned to her side and her eyes landed on the small velvet black box. Nathan's words from yesterday kept repeating in her mind. Maybe she wasn't completely over it. She may have forgiven Nathan for leaving her but she was still scared that he would do it again. There was a part of her that still believed it, even if it was only a small part of her. Nathan had proven himself over these past few months and opening her heart back up to him was like coming back home. For some reason the thought of marriage was just too much. Keeping Nathan at arms length was much better than letting him all the way and breaking her again. She was plagued by her thoughts but soon exhaustion took over and she started to drift asleep.

Fifteen months later . . . .

"Are you excited to see Daddy?" Haley cooed and her little boy just laughed and continued to put his toy truck in his mouth.

"Don't do that sweetie, you know how dirty it is?" Haley took the truck away and then took out a small orange basketball.

"Ball!" The little boy proclaimed.

"That's right." Haley handed him the ball. "We're going to see Daddy. I know he's missed you so much."

"Ready to go?" Lucas called from the doorway.

"Yeah, can you put him in the car seat?" Haley asked.

"No problem." Lucas went over and picked up his little nephew. "Come on buddy, we're going on an adventure today."

"Ball!" The little boy held it out for Lucas.

"Yeah, buddy." He laughed. He turned to Haley, "He is definitely, Nathan's son."

They both laughed and proceeded to head out. The drive wasn't that bad and they arrived at the arena with plenty of time to spare. It was the Bobcat's home opener and they just so happened to be playing the Sonics, where Nathan still played. A year ago, Nathan made a play for joining the Bobcats but unfortunately, it didn't go through. Nathan ended up re-signing for the Sonics. He spent all last season in Seattle, going back and forth between Seattle and Tree Hill as much as possible. Haley took some trips out there by herself while her mom or Lucas watched the baby but their son their son was still too fragile to fly.

"You have the tickets?" Haley asked as she pushed the stroller, her baby boy already asleep in it.

Lucas pulled out his cell phone and read a message from Nathan. "He told us to go around back to the VIP entrance.

A few minutes later, they made their way to the private VIP entrance.

"The entrance is that way." The security guard pointed back to where Lucas and Haley walked from.

"We're here to see Nathan Scott.. I'm his brother Lucas and his girlfriend Haley James with their son."

The security guard looked down on the list. "Ah yes of course, Lucas Scott and Haley James, come in." The security let them pass and handed them VIP passes.

"There you are!" Nathan beamed as he saw Lucas and Haley step out of the elevator. He gave Haley a quick kiss on the cheeks before swooping down and taking their son in his arms.

"I've missed you so much." Nathan held his little boy tight. "I know it's been only a week since I saw him but I swear he looks like he's gotten bigger."

"He probably did." Lucas commented.

"Did you guys make it in okay?"

"Yeah, there were no problems." Haley remarked.

"So you excited about the season opener?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah." Nathan shrugged as he held his little boy in his hands. He was currently sleeping but Nathan couldn't keep his eyes off him. He was perfect blend of him and Haley.

"I hear that…" Lucas was about to say something when the baby started crying.

"Whhaaa..whhaaa!"

"It's okay." Nathan held him tighter and started rocking him back and forth, but the boy kept crying.

"Maybe he's hungry." Haley went for the baby bag to grab a bottle. Meanwhile, the young boy spotted his uncle and he immediately squirmed in his daddy's arms to get out. Nathan saw this and reluctantly handed his son over to his brother and he immediately stopped crying. Haley offered a bottle but he wasn't interested in it and he curled up against his Uncle Lucas and started to go back to sleep again.

Haley saw the flash of disappointed that graced Nathan's face. She knew he felt bad for not being there as much as he wanted to be. She was about to say something when Nathan mumbled something about getting ready and that he'd see them after the game.

. . . . .

"Aww come on Nate." Lucas mumbled as he saw Nathan struggle to make another shot.

"Damnit." Clay muttered next to Lucas when they saw Nathan miss the shot. It was nearly half time and the Sonics were down by 19 points points. Nathan was playing poorly much to the delight of the Charlotte fans. The buzzer rang, signaling the end of the first half and now the Sonics were down 23 points.

Haley rocked her boy on her lap. She felt so bad for Nathan. "They can still come back right?" Haley asked.

"Yeah but it'll take one big rally."

Haley nodded. "Hey can you watch him, I'm going to go to the bathroom." Haley handed her son over to Lucas.

A couple of minutes later, Haley was hanging outside the locker room. There was a bunch of people around and Haley wasn't even sure if she was going to get to see Nathan. The doors pushed open and Haley got her wish as she saw Nathan stepping out.

"Nathan!" Haley called out and Nathan whipped his head. He told his team mates he would catch up with them and sprinted over to where Haley was.

"Hey, what're you doing here?" Nathan asked as he hugged Haley.

"I was worried about you. What's going on with you?"

"I guess my heart isn't in it tonight." Nathan sighed. "I'm just tired. Training camp was hell, the season is already starting off on a bad note, and I even had to leave early to my own son's first birthday because of basketball."

"Nathan, I know it must feel like you're missing out on a lot."

"It's because I am." Nathan pointed out.

"He knows his daddy loves him."

"Does he?"

"He does and one day he's going to tease his dad about playing like crap during the first game he ever saw live."

Nathan chuckled a bit.

"SCOTT!"

Haley was about to say more when a very angry Sonics coach yelled at him to get with the rest of his team.

"Duty calls." Nathan gave her a quick peck on the lips and ran off to join his team.

"I love you." Haley called out but it was too late, Nathan was already gone.

By the time Haley came back, the third quarter had already started and the Sonics were now only down by 18.

"You went to see Nathan didn't you?" Lucas asked as he handed his nephew back to Haley.

"Maybe." Haley smiled.

"Well, whatever you said to him worked Hales, Nathan's on fire right now." Clay replied as they all continued to watch the game.

"Well, we're going to see a lot more games.. especially now that I'm moving to Seattle."

"What?" Both Lucas and Clay whipped their heads to Haley.

"Actually, were are moving to Seattle. The doctor gave us the green light, he's good to fly now." Haley looked down at her son and bounced him up and down on his knees. "We got cut off when we were talking but I'm going to tell him as soon as the game is over."

"Hales, that's great!" Lucas replied and leaned over to hug his best friend. The three of them chatted here and there but most of the time their focus was on the game. It was now the fourth quarter and the Sonics were only trailing by two points with less than 20 seconds on the clock. Nathan had a stellar third quarter and fourth quarter but with the clock winding down, they could tell Nathan was getting fatigued. The coach just called their last time out to let Nathan sit and rest.

He sat down drinking Gatorade while people padded him down with towels and he listened to the coach talk about their next and final play. The whistle blew and Nathan got up and joined the rest of his team. Nathan felt so tired and his heart was beating a mile a minute but he had to push on, only a couple of seconds left in the game. The Sonics had possession of the ball and Nathan faked out one of the defenders and took a step behind the three point line. One of his team mates saw he was opened and passed the ball to Nathan.

The pressure was on and Nathan felt the air go out of his lungs. Still he pressed on as the clock ticked away. A sharp pain came coursing through his left arm but he ignored at he took the shot. Everyone held their breath as the buzzer sounded and the ball went in. Clay, Lucas and Haley all got up and cheered as did the Sonics bench. However silence engulfed the arena as they looked down and saw that Nathan had collapsed on the court.

Everything after that felt like a blur. Haley, Lucas and Clay rushed down to the court while the local EMT were administrating CPR. They dragged him out on a stretcher soon afterwards and Haley tried in vain to get into the ambulance but only family was allowed. Lucas went in his place and it was Lucas who came into the waiting room to deliver the news to Haley and Clay.

Haley paced back and forth across the room. He just had to be okay, she thought. When Lucas walked in, she already knew what happened, his face said it all.

"NO!" Haley cried out as she buried her head into Lucas' chest. Lucas held her for a good five minutes before he finally spoke.

"He had HCM." Lucas muttered. "Apparently the medication he was taking for his back interfered with the test we took last year. It gave a false negative." Lucas choked out.

"No.. no." Haley shook her head as the tears flowed from her eyes. "I need to see him!" She looked up at Lucas.

"Hales.." Lucas held her tight.

"Luke please." Haley begged.

"Go on." Clay nodded his head as he carried Nathan's son in his hands, the little boy asleep, oblivious to everything that was going on.

Lucas held onto Haley tight as he guided her through the scores of press that was waiting in the hospital lobby, through the guards who let her inside Nathan's room. Lucas stood at the doorway as Haley stepped inside. The doctors tried their best but couldn't resuscitate Nathan's heart. He was declared dead shortly after reaching the hospital. Haley lifted the white cold sheet over Nathan's face and stared at his lifeless body.

The first time Nathan saw his son crawl was over a video email she sent to Nathan. When he started to walk, Nathan could only watch over the webcam and the only time he told his boy a night time story was over the phone. There were so many missed moments and now Nathan would never get to see that. Nathan would never get to see his son grow up. Haley would grow old and gray alone. She knew that now.

While trying to keep her heart safe and playing it cool, Haley only wasted time, valuable time with her one and only love. Now he was gone and a part of Haley was gone with him. Her son would grow up father-less and Nathan's absence will forever be a reminder of a life she missed out with Nathan. Everyday will always leave her asking, _what if_ and instead of a lifetime of kisses and memories, all she would have is regret and a hole in her heart that could never be filled.

Dropping to her knees, Haley could only cry out.

"Nathan! Nathan!" Haley's voice crack. "Nathan.. come back to me.. Nathan!"

"Nathan!" Haley shot up from bed, a cold sweat formed over her forehead. She looked around and saw that she was in her's and Nathan's bedroom. The sun was shining through the windows and Haley looked down and saw her pregnant stomach. She rubbed it and felt her unborn son still inside. It was a dream, Haley told herself as she tried to catch her breath. She sighed in relief, it was all a dream she kept repeating. She dropped back down onto the bed to calm herself. It had felt so.. _real_.

She turned to her side towards the nightstand and saw her phone next to that black velvet box. She took a hard look at it before grabbing her phone, her mind already decided. Haley's nerves were still on the fritz but she managed to press the buttons and dial Nathan's number. She waited as the phone continued to ring but in the end all she kept getting was his voicemail.

* * *

Nathan's eyes fluttered open and he looked around and saw that they were parked at a small gas station. There was no sign of Clay and Lucas was in the back sound asleep.

"Hey man." Clay got back in the car, a coffee in hand.

"Morning… where the hell are we?" Nathan rubbed his eyes. "We left that Charity event early to get to Tree Hill by morning."

"Yeah.. after you fell asleep last night.. after you and Lucas went to sleep.. by the way, you two can sleep through anything.."

"Clay." Nathan warned.

"Well, it started raining."

"Yeah?"

"Really hard."

"And?"

"One might even call it a deluge."

"Clay." Nathan warned again.

"I missed the highway exit and drove a few hours in the wrong direction.. but the good news is that we're only a few hundred miles outside of Tree Hill and we're driving a corvette. We'll be home faster than you can say, Yao Ming." Clay said cheerfully.

Once Clay put the car in gear though, he ran over some spikes and he and Nathan felt the tires go out.

"Yao Ming." Nathan replied bluntly.

"What happened?" Lucas woke up from the back.

. . . . . .

Nathan was beyond annoyed as he and Lucas waited outside the small store that was next to the gas station. He was glad the shower was tonight and they still had a chance of getting back in time. It was then that Nathan felt his phone vibrate from inside his jacket pocket.

"Hello." Nathan answered.

"Nathan, it's your father."

"Hey Dad."

Lucas whipped his head around at the mention of Dan's name. Seeing his brother on the phone reminded him to check his own messages. He forgot his cell phone in Tree Hill and Lucas made his way over to a nearby pay phone. Using the last bit of change he had in his pockets, he dialed his cell number and began to check to see if he had any messages.

. . . .

"I wanted to let you know I got a lead on this Rachel girl you told me about." Dan spoke into the phone.

"Oh what do you have?" Nathan asked.

"Turns out that's her middle name, Daneel Rachel Gatina and don't worry I'll make sure she won't bother you again."

Nathan sighed in relief, at least one thing is going right today he though. "Thanks Dad." Nathan was about to say more but he heard his phone beep.

"Hey look, my cell is going to die. I'll talk you to later when I'm back in Tree Hill, we're having a shower for Haley at the Café."

"Okay, I'll talk you then." Dan hung up and looked back at the various photos he had of Rachel. There were a couple of pictures of her and Renee, her outside Renee's apartment, her and Renee inside Rachel's car. He took a couple of days to gather information, not wanting to confront Renee until now.

"Renee, can you come here." He spoke over the intercom in a calm voice. A second later, she showed up.

"What do you need?" She asked.

"Sit." Dan motioned and threw the photos over the desk.

Renee was confused and she sat down across from Dan. She looked down and her stomach dropped once she saw the photos.

"Care to explain." Dan cracked his knuckles.

. . . .

After talking to his dad, Nathan looked through his phone and saw he had a couple of miss calls from Haley. He hoped she was okay. He dialed her number, hoping that his phone wouldn't crap out on him.

"Nathan!" Haley eagerly picked up the phone.

"Hey Hales, sorry I didn't get your call."

"Where are you?"

"At some gas station, we're on the road right now, but we're having a flat tire issue, we'll be …(BEEP)… back by tonight.. (BEEP)."

"Nathan, what's that?"

"Sorry Hales, my phones about to die. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just needed to hear your voice and that ..BEEP.."

"What?" Nathan asked.

Haley sighed in frustration when she heard another beep. "Look get home soon. I love you."

"I will, I love …" Nathan groaned when he saw his phone die.

Nathan turned around and saw Clay walking towards him. "What's the update?"

"According to them, _they aint got no fancy tires._ They have to tow the car over to the next town and it'll be ready by tonight."

"Tonight? I can't believe this!" Nathan shook his head. "Let met get your phone, I think Haley was trying to tell me something."

"Yeah." Clay checked his pockets. "It's in the car…" Clay trailed off as both he and Nathan watched the tow truck tow Clay's car away.

"Crap, I got to talk to Skills, he has your contract with the Sonics." Clay turned to Nathan and was about to open his mouth again but Nathan pointed his finger at him.

"Not a word." He warned. "Now where the hell is that idiotic brother of mine, he better have his phone." Nathan looked around and found Lucas at a payphone.

Lucas punched in his pin code and saw he had three messages. One was from his mom and the other was from Brooke. The last message though was something he'd been waiting to hear for a while now.

"Hello this message if for Lucas Scott. I want to let you know we got the results back from the HCM test….."

Lucas took a big gulp and listened to the rest of the message. It was a few seconds later that he finally hung up and he found Nathan standing in front of him.

"Great, I forgot you left your phone." Nathan groaned out.

"Nate.. there's something I need to tell you." Lucas said softly.

. . . . . .

Before Brooke could even ring the doorbell, Haley had already opened the door.

"There you are!" Haley beamed.

Brooke was surprised to see Haley already dressed. The last time she spoke to Haley, she didn't seem to excited to go shopping with her. "I see you're ready to go."

"Yes, let's go." Haley closed the door behind her. "We have lots to do."

"That's the spirit." Brooke followed Haley to Brooke's car.

"Peyton's coming too right?"

"Umm.. she said she's busy." Brooke alluded.

"Tell her that Karen can decorate, she's coming with us."

"Decorate?"

"Brooke, I know all about the shower."

Brooke was about to say something but the look on Haley's face told her that it was no use.

"I'm going to kill Nathan."

"You better not!" Haley warned.

Brooke gave Haley a curious look.

"Speaking of which, I spoke to him this morning before his phone died, I think he and Luke are going to be late. They had a flat tire or something like that." Haley waved her hands about and reached into her purse and pulled out a magazine. She held it up for Brooke to see.

"Now, I love the color, I think it'll go great with your's and Peyton's complexion. But I was thinking that it should be strapless."

"Haley what're you talking about?"

"And the hem should be shorter, I mean I'll be big as a house, I might as well let my brides maids look sexy."

"Brides maid?" Brooke gasped. "Wait.. does this mean?" Brooke was struggling to find the words.

Haley couldn't hold back her smile.

"I'm going to ask Nathan to marry me tonight!"

To Be Continued . . . . .


	27. Somewhere A Clock is Ticking

The Search for Something More

Chapter 27 – Somewhere A Clock is Ticking

Thank you all for the reviews! I know you are all eager to know what comes next so I won't keep you. I wanted to make sure I had next chapter mostly written up before I post this one. Hope you enjoy this one. Leave me some love!

* * *

"I'm going to ask Nathan to marry me tonight!" Haley proclaimed with a huge grin on her face.

Brooke looked at her for a second, her jaw practically on the floor before she squealed and started jumping up and down towards Haley. "AHHH!"

"AHH!" Haley couldn't back her excitement either and would've joined Brooke but her feet would hurt and it was probably not the best for the baby.

"Okay Tigger calm down." Haley laughed.

Brooke finally got a hold of herself. "Sorry, you know me, weddings always gets me excited .. but you.. I mean.. how.. what.."

Haley was about to answer but paused, someone else was missing. "Where's Peyton?"

A short time later, the duo made their way over to Peyton's house in Tree Hill.

"Talk about a wake up call." Peyton yawned as she handed Haley a cup of hot chocolate, her and Brooke having coffee this morning.

"P. Sawyer, how can you not be excited? Tutor girl's getting married!"

"I'm not getting married yet." Haley clarified.

"Oh please, like Nathan would ever say no." Peyton laughed and Brooke nodded in agreement. Peyton took a took a seat and took a sip of her coffee. "Of course, I'm excited. I'm so happy for you Hales." Peyton squeezed Haley's hand.

"Now." Peyton stated, the caffeine kicking in. "I want all the details."

"Yes, Tutorgirl." Brooke turned to Haley. "What changed?"

Both girls eager to find out what made Haley change her mind about marrying Nathan.

Haley paused for a second. "I've always loved Nathan, even when I denied it, I was… am."

"We know." Peyton turned to Brooke.

"You did?" Somehow Haley was surprised.

"Yeah." Brooke sighed. "As much as I hated the bastard, we all knew that deep down you still loved him, which made me hate him even more after he left you."

"And I was scared he'd leave me again. He bought the ring in high school and he still left me. I know it's silly to think that, especially after all we've been through but it was there. I've forgiven him. I really have but the fear just kept gnawing at me."

"And now?" Peyton asked.

"Oh I'm still scared." Haley gave a small laugh "I think this whole time I was waiting for the fear to disappear but I don't think that ever will." Haley admitted. "But last night I realized something else, that I'm more scared of not having him in my life."

"Awww." Both girls cooed.

Haley blushed. "I had a dream that the baby was born and that Nathan and I were together but still not married. We were watching Nathan play basketball and he collapsed on the court and died of a heart attack." Haley could feel the tears well up as she relived the dream. "It felt so real, one minute he was there.. the next he was gone,." Peyton and Brooke clutched onto Haley, their hearts breaking at Haley's words.

"But life is short you know, after my dad's death, my mom's cancer, I think it's time to stop being afraid.. or not letting it control me. So I'm ready to take the next step with Nathan. We love each other, we're having a son, I'm ready to start the rest of my life.. and I'm ready to start it with him." Haley proclaimed.

"Damn you Haley." Peyton wiped away a few tears.

"You're totally ruining my make up." Brooke sniffled.

Haley laughed and wiped away her own tears.

"So when does boy toy come back?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah?" Peyton added.

"He said he'll be there for the shower."

"Oh we need to make tonight, extra special." Brooke added.

Haley nodded in agreement. "I'm thinking about going back up the roof, we can get candles and light the place up."

"That sounds like a great idea." Peyton complimented.

"Okay ladies, finish your drinks." Brooke announced. "We need to go shopping for candles, a new killer outfit for Haley and I'm going to book our hair and nails appointment." Brooke got up and started to make some calls on her phone.

Haley and Peyton laughed, Brooke was something else.

* * *

"Nate, there's something I need to tell you." Lucas said softly.

"That Clay's an idiot." Nathan huffed out. "Yeah I already know that."

"Nate.." Lucas was about to speak up but Clay interrupted them.

"Good news." Clay came up to them.

"What?" Lucas asked.

"You found us a car." Nathan replied.

"Sort of." Clay remarked. "I did get us a ride… he can take us as far as Charlotte."

"That's not bad." Lucas replied.

"Yeah Charlotte's, not that far from home." Nathan replied. "Another five minutes here and you were going to give me a piggy bag ride."

"Funny, how you mention that." Clay added.

"Huh?" Lucas squinted over at Clay.

Clay took a deep breath and pointed to a truck nearby, the back was open and full of pigs. "That's our ride."

"Please tell me there's space inside the actual truck." Lucas replied but Clay just stayed quiet.

"You're going to see how much I love Haley." Nathan shook his head and made his way over to the truck.

* * *

"Care to explain?" Dan cracked his knuckles.

"Umm.. I.. " Renee tried to form words but none could come out.

"It's okay because I've done some digging around on my own and looks like you were trying to two-time me."

"Mr. Scott.. I needed the money.. we needed the money." Renee said desperately.

"I thought I paid you plenty to just sit back and look after my sons but it seems that wasn't good enough for you." Dan replied coolly. "Apparently, trying to blackmail my son paid out more."

"Mr. Scott, I didn't know Rachel was going to do that."

"And how did Rachel know about the pregnancy? This was supposed to be between you and me."

"She's.. she's my girlfriend. I had to tell her."

"Did you also tell her how good the cake was at Andre Field's birthday party?" Dan pulled out another photo. The more info he dug up about Renee, the more he discovered. Quentin Fields posted some pictures online from his son's birthday party and he discovered Renee in some of the pictures. He paid her to keep an eye on Nathan. He'd been left out in the dark ever since Nathan cut him off a few years ago. After Nathan's accident, Dan was even more determined to get back in touch with his son.. both his sons, especially after learning about his HCM. What he didn't expect was to find that Haley's mom had cancer and that Haley herself got pregnant by Nathan. This turned out to work in his favor as it allowed him to an in to get back into his sons' lives.

"You're job was to look after my sons.. to tell me what they were up to not to talk to them. And certainly not try to blackmail them." Dan pounded his fist on his desk.

"Mr. Scott.."

"No, Renee I'm done with you." Dan gritted through his teeth. "And you're little friend Rachel."

* * *

"I feel bad man.. because I _looove _bacon and I love porkchops and I love ham but then I met you .. now I'm conflicted." Clay spoke to the pig he was currently sitting next to.

"I know you plan on falling insanely in love with that pig, but can we please talk about something else." Nathan replied annoyed. Lucas snickered next to his brother, the dude had a weird fetish with pigs.

"Sure." Clay replied and leaned back. "So tonight's your baby shower."

"Yeah." Nathan replied. "Haley's expecting me to be there."

"Brooke's going to kill me." Lucas replied. Clay and Nathan looked at Lucas.

"I was supposed to pick up some of the food." Lucas replied and then looked down at the pig. "Brooke ordered pork ribs." Lucas grimaced and all three shared awkward looks at each other.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, they felt the truck slow down to a complete stop.

"What happened?" Nathan jumped off the truck, traffic was backed up and no one was moving.

"The bridge is out.. probably flooded due to the deluge we had last night." The driver remarked.

"See what, I tell you." Clay looked over to Nathan.

"You have a map?" Nathan turned to the driver. A few seconds later, the driver whipped out a map and Nathan started to go through it.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Lucas asked.

"Let's see, we're here.. and if we hike a few miles north, we can make it to the next highway.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Lucas asked. "What if we get lost?"

"Yeah, maybe we should just stay here."

"Dude come on, I'm like a human compass." Nathan motioned for them to follow him.

* * *

"I'll .. I'll have your money.. it's just taking a little bit longer than expected. Yes, I know.. don't worry …. Hello.. Fox.. Hello." Rachel looked at her phone and it looked like he hung up.

"Who was that?" Renee asked.

"Someone who's pissed.. just like me." Rachel put her phone away. "I can't believe he fired you!" Rachel paced back and forth.

"I told you that blackmailing Nathan was a bad idea."

"And I can't believe you let him take back the little money we had left."

"Rachel, I was trying to protect us. It's already bad enough he fired me. Let's just leave town. I have a bad feeling about this." Dan all but told her to get the hell out of town. "Believe me, you don't want to mess with Dan Scott." Dan Scott gave her the option of never coming back. Frankly, he had so much dirt on both of them that it would be pointless trying to go after him.

"Well Dan Scott never messed with me." Rachel proclaimed.

* * *

"The high way is this way… I think." Nathan continued to walk. The sun was starting to set and frankly, he didn't want to get stuck in the creepy woods at night.

"Hey Nate, look at the bright side. If we actually lived through this thing, think of the endorsement deals from GPS companies. I never would've gotten lost if.."

"Shut up." Nathan exclaimed. "Would you just shut up?"

"I'm just trying to have a conversation."

"That's the thing, you're always talking."

"Oh I'm sorry." Clay fired back. "I didn't know the human compass needed complete silence to concentrate." They came to a complete stop now. "Maybe we should've stayed with the pigs cuz it seems to me that you have gotten us lost."

"ME? We wouldn't be here if you haven't insisted on a guys road trip, if you haven't taken the wrong exit or if you didn't drive over those spikes, I would be home right now!"

"Nathan, Haley will understand."

"She shouldn't have to Clay!"

"Clay, Nathan asked Haley to marry him. She said no." Lucas finally spoke up. He'd been mostly silent, lost in his own thoughts but things were getting heated and he needed to diffuse the situation. He knew his brother was on edge and he doubt Clay knew the real reason why.

"Nate?" Clay looked at Nathan confused. He was a little disappointed that he only found out about this now. He thought they were friends. "How come you didn't tell me?"

"I'm sorry if I didn't want to advertise that the love of my life.. the mother of my son, doesn't want to marry me." Nathan ran a hand through his hair.

"Nathan, what's wrong?" Lucas asked.

"The last conversation I had with Hales, it got heated. I think I maybe have given her an ultimatum."

"What do you mean, you think?"

"I told her that she has me .. all of me and if that's not enough, then maybe I'm not enough for her." Nathan looked down. "Look, I just don't want her to think that if she doesn't marry me that it's over between us. I'll wait forever if I have to."

"Hey Clay, can you hike up that way?" Lucas pointed out. "I thought I saw some lights. I need a moment with my brother."

"Yeah." Clay nodded and started to walk away. "I'll be back."

As soon as Lucas was out of ear shot, Lucas turned to his brother.

"I'm a screw up, I know." Nathan spoke first.

"You're not a screw up Nate. And believe me when I say that I think everything will work out with you and Haley."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because.. you're Nathan and Haley." Lucas laughed. "You guys bring out the worst in each other _but_ also the best out of each other. You two are what all us fools are looking for. You have it Nate and I know that things are rough right now but you two love each other, just remember that and everything will work itself out."

Nathan gave a small smile. "Thanks Luke."

"Look, there's something else." Lucas shifted his feet. "I heard back from the lab."

"Shit, and you're only telling me this now."

"I didn't want to say anything in front of Clay."

"Well what the hell man? What did they say?"

"You're good. You don't have HCM."

"Oh thank God." Nathan gave Lucas a hug but quickly pulled back. "You're okay too right?"

Lucas gave a warm smile. "Yeah, me too. We're going to be fine little brother." Lucas padded Nathan on the back. Nathan stood there for a moment, taking it all in, at least this was one less thing to worry about.

"Aww how cute." Clay commented.

"That was fast." Lucas turned to him.

"You were right, the highway was just up over that hill." Clay motioned for them to come over.

* * *

Haley checked her phone and saw no missed calls.

"Still no word from Nathan?" Brooke asked.

"Nope. I'm getting worried." Haley replied.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they're fine." Brooke smiled. "I don't know if I can say the same thing for Lucas."

"Why what happened?" Haley asked.

"He was supposed to pick up the food, luckily I got Junk to get it last minute." Brooke continued to fix Haley's hair.

"I got the candles!" Peyton came walking in with two shopping bags full of candles of various sizes.

"Yay." Brooke clapped her hands. "Okay Hales, Peyton and I are going to head to the café and help Karen finish setting up. And remember when you arrive, act surprised."

Haley laughed. "I will." Brooke and Peyton left and Haley turned back to the mirror. Her hair flowed down in loose curls and she was wearing a dark brown dress with a nice v neck and the hem went down to her knees. It also fit her very well, showcasing her belly. Haley picked up the black box with the ring inside from the vanity and smiled. She opened the box up and removed the necklace she was wearing. She placed the ring on her necklace and smiled. After tonight, she hoped it would be on her finger.

* * *

The trio made their way to the highway and Nathan sighed in relief.

"Hey Clay, sorry if I was being an ass back there."

"Don't sweat it Nate.. and besides you'll probably want to kill me later anyways."

"What? Why?"

"I had the contract you signed over night-ed to Skills. The Sonics were going to call today for an update and if they do, Skills was going to hand the contract over to them."

"Wait, you're going back to Seattle?" Lucas asked.

"Charlotte turned me down. They're the only team that wants me." Nathan replied.

"Damn. That sucks, so when do you have to leave?" Lucas asked.

"Well, I'm not going to leave with out Haley. I know Haley said it's cool to go to Seattle so I'm going to leave it up to her."

"But Nate, you signed the contract." Clay pointed out.

"I did but I post dated it." Nathan replied.

"To when?"

"To the year 2110." Nathan smirked. "And you know how anal lawyers are. They're just going to send the contract back for me to sign appropriately."

"Giving us another extension." Clay smirked.

"Yeah, it'll give me one last chance to talk to Haley and make sure she's cool with it before going through with it."

Clay laughed. "Pretty sneaky Scott."

"I have my moments."

"Wait, there's a car!" Lucas pointed out and started waving his hands about. The car was a white Escalade and the windows rolled down.

"You crazy white people, what the hell are you doing here?" Q smirked.

"Q! Thank God." Nathan proclaimed.

"Q, what're you doing here?" Clay asked. He was the last person he expected to see.

"I was heading to Tree Hill because this one here." Q motioned to Nathan, "invited me to his baby shower last night. I didn't think I was going to make it but my meetings ended early so I decided to just go. What the hell are you guys doing?"

"We'll explain on the way." Nathan replied.

* * *

Haley checked her watch, still no Nathan. The shower was in full swing now and while she was grateful for everyone here, she was still worried about Nathan. He and Lucas hadn't contacted anyone yet.

"The guest are getting restless." Brooke went up to Haley.

"How about we start the games?" Peyton asked.

"Brilliant idea, P. Sawyer." Brooke smiled and then started clapping her hands to get everyone's attention.

"Here Hales, sit right here, you'll have front row seats." Peyton guided Haley over to one of the chairs.

"Okay folks, we need teams of three." Brooke announced and then proceeded to go through the items left on a table they set up earlier. "This is a modified relay race." She smirked. "The first person on the team will have to put diapers on this stuffed animal.. blindfold… then after that's done, the next person has to finish this bottle of baby food.. and then last, someone has to finish this baby bottle by sucking through the nipple, just like a baby." Brooke grinned. "By the way, if any of you are pregnant, don't drink this." Brooke added.

"Now, Mouth, Junk, Fergie, you're team #1" Brooke announced when she noticed no one forming teams.

* * *

Q couldn't help but laugh. "I can't believe you guys hitch hiked on a truck full of pigs."

"It wasn't that bad." Clay remarked from his spot in the front seat.

"Well you smell bad." Q laughed.

"I think Clay found the next love of his life." Nathan added and both and he and Lucas laughed from the back.

"Huh?" Q asked.

"Let's just say, Clay met a friend." Nathan replied. "But can I borrow your phone, I need to call Haley."

"Yeah sure." Q reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

"Thanks." Nathan grabbed the phone. He looked at it and paused.

"What happened? Lucas turned to him.

"What's Haley's number?" Nathan realized he hadn't memorized her number.

"I can't believe you don't know it." Lucas rolled his eyes.

"It's saved on my phone ass, just give me her number." Nathan rolled his eyes.

"It's 919… shoot." Lucas shook his head. "I don't know it either. I know her old cell number."

"I can't believe you don't know it." Nathan replied sarcastically. Who remembers people's numbers anyways.

Q and Clay laughed from the front seat.

"Give me, I can call the café." Lucas took the phone and started to dial. "Great, we have no signal."

"Of course." Nathan replied, this was just his luck.

"Oh wait, I finally go through." Lucas announced after trying three more times and motioned everyone to be quiet. "Hey mom, it's Luke… yeah we're fine.. yeah flat tire but we're on our way back to Tree Hill now.. wait what did you say? I have bad signal… hello.. wait what?… Hello.. hello." Lucas looked down and saw that they lost signal again.

"No signal." Lucas announced.

"But you spoke Karen right?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, the party is in full swing but at least they know we're coming."

Nathan nodded, at least that was something. He'd see Haley soon enough and he couldn't wait to tell her news about the HCM.

"Hey Q, this your son?" Lucas looked back down at his phone.

"Yeah.. handsome like his dad right." Q smiled.

"Yeah, he's a cute kid. Is that Nathan I see in the background?" Lucas showed the phone to Nathan.

"Oh yeah, that's me." Nathan looked at the image. The photo was of Andre about to blow his birthday cake. "This was from his 5th birthday. Clay and I went."

"Yeah, scroll through the pics, I have a couple in there from the party." Q replied.

A second later, Lucas found the photos.

"You should see his backyard, it's sick." Nathan commented.

"I can tell." Lucas saw some of the pics. "It's huge."

"That's what she said." Q replied causing everyone to laugh.

Lucas scrolled through some of the pics, most of it was of Andre but there were some of Lucas and Q and Clay. He stopped though at one picture. It was another one of Andre but he saw Nathan in the background talking to as girl in a blue dress and blond streaks. She looked really familiar, Lucas thought to himself.

* * *

"Haley, Lucas called. He and Nathan are fine, they're on the road and on the way here."

"Oh that's good to hear." Haley sighed in relief. She was so worried that she hadn't heard of anything yet. "Where are they?"

"Lucas had bad signal but I think they should be here soon."

"Thanks Karen."

"Haley, we have a winner!" Brooke announced, raising Mouth's hand, which held a piece of string. Everyone cut a piece of string to estimate the size of Haley's belly. The closest one to Haley's actually size won.

Haley laughed, feeling a lot more relaxed now that she knew Nathan was okay.

. . . . .

Nathan rushed through the doors of the café, not bothering to acknowledge the guests there trying to greet him. His eyes instantly looked for Haley.

Haley spotted his blue orbs from across the room and she instantly made her way over to them.

"Oh I missed you." The two hugged each other tight and Nathan kissed the top of her forehead. He could definitely get used to a greeting like this.

"You stink." Haley pulled back.

"I know, I'm sorry about being late. Clay took the wrong exit then ran over some spikes.."

"No I mean you smell."

"That's cuz we had to hitchhike in a pick up truck full of pigs."

"Seriously?"

"Long story." Nathan shook his head. "Hales, this is my friend Q. He eventually picked us up and was also in Atlanta."

"I finally get to meet you in the flesh. Pleasure to meet you Miss James." Q stuck out his hand.

"Nathan's talked so much about you. Nice to meet you." Haley shook his hand.

"Oh good. You're finally here." Brooke tugged on Nathan and Haley's hands. "Time for gifts."

"But Brooke."

"I have P. Sawyer lighting up the candles upstairs." She whispered into Haley's ear. She turned to Nathan and took a whiff.

"Luckily for you, I had Haley bring you some extra clothes. Since she told me you were going to be late, I didn't want the risk of you showing up in sweats."

"Go on." Haley smiled and Brooke led Nathan to the back so he could change.

Five minutes later, Nathan came out with a fresh baby blue dress shirt and a new pair of slacks. He felt better being out the clothes he'd worn all day. He made his way back to Haley and the two were now seated against a mountain of gifts.

"After this, we need to talk." Nathan whispered over to her and smiled. Haley smiled back.

"Yeah." Haley agreed.

"And our first gift." Brooke announced.

. . . . . .

Almost all the gifts were opened and Karen was busy jotting down who gave what. Peyton came back from downstairs and whispered something over to Brooke. Haley looked at them curiously. Luckily, Nathan was talking to Lucas ogling over some of the basketball items they received as gifts. You'd think it was for them.

"We'll be back." Brooke winked at Haley and the two women were off. She felt her necklace from underneath her dress. Haley was nervous. Once she got the green light from them, she was going to take Nathan upstairs and ask him.

"I'll be right back." Nathan whispered to Haley. Haley followed Nathan's line of site and through the café's glass windows, she noticed Dan lurking outside.

"What's he doing here?"

"I had lapse in judgment and invited him."

Haley gave him a weird look. "He's dying Hales, I mean I should try right?"

Haley nodded and kissed his cheeks. "Come back soon." Nathan nodded got up and headed outside.

"I know I'm late but I brought a gift." Dan held a small box that was wrapped in baby blue gift wrapping.

"Thanks." Nathan took the gift.

"And I want you to know I took care of Rachel. She shouldn't be bothering any more."

"What did you do?" Nathan asked.

"I flexed a little mayoral power. Let's just say that the next time she's in Tree Hill, the police will arrest her."

Nathan snorted. "At least that's something. Thanks dad."

"No problem son. I'm .. I'm glad you came to me with this."

Nathan nodded.

"But enough about this. You should be celebrating. Tonight's your night."

Nathan nodded. "You want to come in?"

By this time, Dan noticed Lucas looking at them curiously. "I better not. I just wanted to drop the gift off. I'll see you around."

"Okay." Nathan nodded his head and went back inside.

He placed the gift next to the others.

"What was that about?" Lucas asked softly.

"Nothing. He took care of Rachel."

"Do you trust him?"

"I don't know but he's still our dad and it's too tiring hating him all the time, especially now that I'm back home."

Lucas nodded in understanding. He still didn't trust Dan though but he got where Nathan was coming from. There was a time when Dan wasn't a monster and when Nathan looked up to his dad as his hero.

. . . . .

"We have a problem." Peyton said.

"A small problem." Brooke added.

"What?" Haley asked.

"It's a little windy upstairs and so all the candles keep getting blown out." Peyton replied.

"What?"

"See, you should've gotten the one with the holders to block the wind off." Brooke admonished.

"I didn't know!" Peyton defended herself.

"It's okay. Just turn on Christmas lights." Haley said.

"It deluged last night and now the electric prongs are rusted and only half of them work." Brooke winced. "Sorry Hales, I know how you wanted it to be perfect."

"It's okay. I'll think of something. Thanks guys." Haley headed back to the party and saw Nathan talking to Lucas.

Nathan saw Haley approaching them and motioned Lucas to scram. He just told his brother how he wanted to tell Haley the good news.

"Hey, let's talk." Nathan whispered into her ear and took a hold of her hands.

Haley nodded. "We can talk on the roof."

. . . . .

"Who did this to you?" Renee demanded. She got a cryptic message from Rachel to meet her at the back of Tric. Rachel was in a table in the back, a drink of scotch in one hand and a black eye she tried to cover with her hair.

"Did you get into another fight?" Renee asked.

"I owed some guy money. This is how I got my extension." Rachel looked away.

"Oh my God, Rachel what did you do?"

"Nothing." Rachel got and reached for her car keys.

"Where you going?" Renee chased her outside.

"Following your advice from earlier, leaving this place." Rachel got into her black Buick.

"Rachel, you're drunk… Rachel!" Renee called out but Rachel went into the car anyways. "Give me the keys." Rachel ignored her

Rachel sighed and handed her the keys. "Look let's just go home and leave this place."

Renee agreed and got into the car.

Rachel looked out the window as they drove. They were stopped at a red light and Rachel noticed someone a block ahead. The light turned green and the car started moving.

"Scott." Rachel gritted out as she got closer. "Pull over!"

"Huh?" Renee asked.

"I said pull over!" Rachel demanded.

. . . . .

Nathan looked around and saw all the people blocking the stairway to the roof. He knew he'd be plagued by people wanting to talk to them. He didn't want to be rude but he really wanted some alone time with Haley. He did see that the exit was all clear. He tightened his grip on Haley's hand and led them out of the café.

"Follow me." Nathan led the way.

"So what was your dad doing here?" Haley asked once they were outside.

"He got some info on the girl who was trying to blackmail us. He took care of it."

"That's good right?"

Nathan nodded. "Yeah that's very good. But that's not why I wanted to talk you." They started walking.

"I got good news, I don't have HCM."

"Are you serious?" Haley stopped in her tracks.

"Yes. Lucas doesn't have it either. We found out today."

"Oh thank God." Haley hugged Nathan tight and they shared a tender kiss.

"I'm so happy you two are okay." Haley replied.

"Yeah me too." Nathan wrapped his arms around her and started to cross the street. She knew exactly where they were walking to, the docks. It would always be their place.

"There's something else."

"What?" Haley asked.

"Charlotte turned me down."

Haley stopped.

"So what does it mean?"

"It means the Sonics are the only team that'll have me. It's just, I know you said you were okay with me going to the Sonics but I don't want to leave you."

"You won't leave me Nathan, I'll be with you. As soon as me and the baby can fly, we'll head out to Seattle."

"You sure?" Nathan asked. He wanted to be certain. "Because I don't have to go to Seattle."

"But where will you go?"

"Nowhere, I can be here in Tree Hill."

"But basketball."

"Basketball can wait Hales, we have a son coming. You and him are the most important things in my life."

"Nathan, it doesn't matter where you play or not play, as long as we're together. That's what I want, that's all I've ever wanted."

"Me too." Nathan smiled.

"I want to be with you, Nathan." Haley took a deep breath and reached for her necklace and pulled it up from under her dress. Nathan instantly noticed the diamond ring and the reflection of light it gave. And before he can say anything else, he noticed the light getting brighter.

"Nathan!" Haley screamed as she lunged towards Nathan, a black car heading their way.

. . . . . .

"I said pull over!" Rachel demanded and tried to grab the steering wheel from Renee.

"Rachel stop!" Renee demanded trying to take control of the wheel.

Dan was inside his car about to start the engine when he noticed a black buick driving erratically. He got out of the car and watched in horror as the car continued to swerve and the next thing he knew, he sees Haley and Nathan in the middle of the street, the car barreling their way.

He started running, running as fast as he can. He sees Haley lunge forward towards Nathan and they both fall on the ground, the car narrowly missing them but the car hit a couple of parked cars before crashing into a lamppost.

"Are you okay?" Dan asked out of breath once he reached Nathan and Haley.

"Yeah." Nathan started to get up, Haley on top of him, "Hales you okay?"

"Yeah." Haley nodded and tried to get up but Nathan held her steady. He was so glad she was okay.

"Stay with her Nate." Dan ordered as he ran towards the crashed car.

Lucas came running out of the café. "I saw what happened, are you okay?"

"I'm just shaken up." Haley steadied herself up against Nathan. Nathan knew his back was probably bruised up. That was a hard fall but at least they were okay.

"Help Dan." Nathan nodded over to the crashed car. "I got her."

. . . .

"Are you okay?" Dan reached the passenger door, slightly out of breath. But he felt nothing but rage when he saw who was inside. Renee was in the driver seat and Rachel next to her, both of them unconscious. "YOU!" Dan gritted out and opened the door and yanked Rachel out. Clenching his fist, he was about to strike but felt a pair of hands stop him.

Dan looked up and saw his oldest son looking down on him. It was then that Lucas noticed the two passengers. Instantly, he recognized Rachel and the other as the girl from Q's picture and looking at Dan, he realized that she was his secretary as well. He knew he recognized her, he saw her with Dan at a few public appearances.

Before Lucas could say anything further, he felt Dan shake slightly. Dan felt his left hand go numb and a sharp pain coursing through his left arm.

"Lucas.." Dan muttered before shaking slightly and falling on the ground.

. . . . .

"You sure you're okay?" Nathan steadied Haley on her feet. She didn't look so good.

"Yeah." Haley muttered, her head feeling dizzy. Nathan wiped away her hair and didn't notice any bumps. He looked down and saw blood on his slacks. It was then that he noticed a pool of blood on the floor, the blood dripping from Haley's thighs.

"Oh God Hales." Nathan said panicked. He looked at the crowd gathered outside the café. "Call 911!"

"Nath…" Haley closed her eyes and was about to fall down. Nathan held onto her and as gently as he could, guided her down to the ground.

"Haley!" Nathan tried to wake her up as he held onto her tight.

"HALEY!…. HALEY!"

To Be Continued . . . . .

Please don't hate me lol. Please review.


	28. You Call It Madness, But I Call It Love

The Search For Something More

Chapter 28 - You Call It Madness, But I Call It Love

Thank you all for the reviews last chapter. I know I put you guys through a lot lol. Thanks for sticking with me. Believe me when I say that there is MORE to this story. This opening sequence for this chapter was very hard to write. If I was a director, it'd be much easier to film it as oppose to write it lol. Likewise, I'm not a doctor or anything so just take whatever I write for face value lol. It's a story lol. As you can tell, a lot of storylines are coming at a cross roads these past few chapters. And just to refresh everyone's memory, Andre's birthday party was all the way back in chapter 1.

I was going to wait until tomorrow to update but all your kind words helped me put this chapter together faster, hopefully it can happen again hehe. Since we had no Naley last night thought this was my way of giving back too lol. I also got a chance to make a quick visit to Wilmington this weekend, only passed by for a half marathon they had where Sophia, Austin and Allison (Lauren participated). I got to meet all three real quick before they left so I was really happy about that and Jackson was there but I didn't see him. Either way that so made my weekend.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy and please review!

* * *

"Dispatch, I have a 23 year old female, 7 months pregnant, unconscious with internal bleeding." The EMT spoke into the microphone by his shoulder.

"How is she?" Nathan asked frantically.

"We won't know until we get to the hospital." The EMT turned to his partner. "On three…. One.. two.. three." The two lifted the gurney up and hauled a still unconscious Haley inside.

"Are you her husband?" The EMT halted Nathan from entering the ambulance. Only immediately family were allowed.

"She's carrying my son." Nathan said breathlessly.

. . . . .

"She's gone." The medic tried to get a pulse on Renee and then ran over to Rachel. "She has a pulse." The medic signaled for his partner to come over.

Lucas stood back and could only watch in horror. There were two ambulance trucks where he was at. He looked back to where Haley was and saw Haley being wheeled into another ambulance with Nathan following suit. He and his brother locked eyes for a moment before Nathan got into the ambulance and Lucas focused his attention back to Dan. He thought Haley was okay but he was clearly wrong.

"Dispatch, 41 male, appearing to have suffered severed cardiac failure." The EMT spoke into the microphone by his shoulder. He signaled over to his partner and they hauled Dan into the ambulance.

"He has HCM." Lucas spoke up.

"You know him?" The EMT asked.

Lucas took a big gulp. "He's my father."

. . . . . .

Nathan continued to clutch onto Haley's hand. The ambulance ride felt like a blur. He couldn't speak but just watched her, squeezed her hand and prayed everything would be okay. He couldn't hear the sirens or what anyone else was saying, his whole focus was on Haley and his son. He couldn't believe this was happening. One minute he was with her, the next she's bleeding out in front of him. His mind could barely comprehend everything that happened in the past couple of minutes. He remembered looking over to where Lucas was, he saw his father being hauled away as well. The first thing he thought about was his HCM, but he would worry about his father later. Right now, it was all about Haley and their unborn son.

The ambulance parked and Nathan followed the gurney as they hauled Haley towards the ER. At the same time from the other entrance Dan was being hauled into the cardiac center with Lucas on his heels. Both brothers stopped at the intersection, a worried look in each of their eyes. Without a word, their blue eyes locked and they gave each other one big hug before pulling away, Nathan running off to Haley and Lucas to follow Dan.

Reaching the Operating Room doors, a nurse stopped Nathan.

"I'm sorry sir, you can't go any further."

Nathan saw the doors closed and he looked through the window as a team of nurses and doctors escorted Haley away. Nathan just stood there frozen for second before he finally cracked. The magnitude of what happened hit him like a ton of bricks. He couldn't breath, he couldn't even stand as he slumped against the counter he was leaning on. He looked down at his hands and saw that they were still covered in blood, Haley's blood. And then he finally broke.

. . . . .

"You're father suffered a massive cardiac attack." The nurse talked to Lucas outside the operating room. "He needs a heart transplant but we're going to hook him up to a machine that'll pump his blood for him."

"Do.. do what you can." Lucas said softly.

"Okay, follow me, I'm going to need you to fill out some paper work."

Once Lucas was finished, he found Nathan slumped over against a wall. He was completely oblivious to everything around him. People looked at him but it was clear that he too distraught at the moment.

"You're his brother right?" One of the nurses came up to Lucas.

"Yeah?"

"You're brother has some cuts on his back but he refuses care."

"I'll talk to him." Lucas started to walk over to his brother.

"Nathan." Lucas kneeled down. Nathan just looked at him with a blank expression.

"Nate.. come with me." Lucas said softly. "Come on." He urged. "The nurse wants to just clean up your cuts."

Nathan nodded softly and held onto Lucas as he helped him up. Lucas had a firm grip on Nathan's shoulder and led them to a private room. Lucas guided Nathan over to the sink and he turned on the water while Nathan washing the blood.. Haley's blood from his hands. After he was done, Lucas guided him to the examining table and saw some blood bleed out through Nathan's shirt.

"Take off your shirt." Lucas said softly but Nathan just sat there. The nurse was also there and Lucas felt bad for making her wait for so long. "Come on Nate." Lucas started to undue his buttons.

"I know you always wanted me." Nathan half chuckled, a blank look in his eyes.

"You wish." Lucas joked back. "Come on Nate. The nurse needs to make sure you're okay."

"But I'm not okay." Nathan replied back. "If Haley and the baby aren't alright, I don't think I'll ever be okay."

"I know." Lucas nodded and helped remove Nathan's dress shirt. Nathan then removed his white undershirt, which soaked up most of the blood.

The nurse cleaned some of the wounds. It wasn't anything too bad and it was mostly on his side. He had a couple of cuts and it'll probably turn black and blue for the next few weeks but nothing life threatening. The nurse cleaned out the wounds and Nathan didn't even flinch when the nurse rubbed alcohol on his cuts. She placed her last bandage and let the two brothers have a moment.

"Stay for as long as you want." The nurse gave them a warm smile and left the room.

Lucas threw away Nathan's undershirt and the baby blue dress shirt Nathan had on earlier was stained but wearable. Nathan took it and buttoned himself back up. Once he was done, he got up and he just stood there, a blank expression on his face.

"That car just came at us." Nathan finally spoke and turned to his brother. "Who would do that?" Nathan's voice cracked. "They didn't do anything wrong. Haley and the baby.." Nathan's voice started to crack and a second later, Lucas had him back in his arms.

"It's going to be okay." Lucas padded Nathan's back and it was then that Nathan buried his head into Lucas' shoulders and started to cry.

Lucas didn't have the heart to tell Nathan who were the driver and passenger of the car. He was too distraught right now and Lucas would wait until things calmed down. Lucas was still trying to wrap his head around it too. He had no clue what was going on but last time he checked, Renee died in the crash leaving Rachel and Dan to fill in the pieces of what really happened.

Nathan continued to cry and Lucas never saw his brother so vulnerable. They didn't grow up together, only bonding over their last two years of high school and the past couple of months and even though he was only three months older, Lucas would always be his big brother. He'd be there for Nathan the way only a brother can. It was a messed up situation but Lucas was thankful for Nathan because if he stopped taking care of Nathan and thought about all that had happened, to let his mind go there and realize that his best friend and nephew were fighting for their lives, he'd fall apart too.

"It's going to be okay." Lucas repeated and held his brother close, hoping that his words would be true.

. . . . . .

Brooke peaked into the window and saw the two brothers embracing each other. She turned away, letting the two have their private moment together. She walked down to the waiting room, where Karen, Clay and some of their other friends have gathered. Both Karen and Clay were on the phones, no doubt contacting important contacts of Haley and Nathan.

Brooke took a seat next to Peyton and clutched her hand. Peyton squeezed it tight.

"How can this be happening?" Brooke asked her.

Peyton had no words but just shook her head.

"She has to be okay Peyton. Her and the baby, they have to be right?" Brooke asked with tears in her eyes.

Peyton could only pull Brooke close to her and hold her as she too started to cry.

* * *

Nathan calmed down a little and he and Lucas were currently sitting down next to each other in their own private waiting room. Nathan couldn't be with anyone else at the moment. Nathan rested his elbows on his thighs and held his hands tight, praying for Haley and the baby. Lucas still had his arm around his brother, the two staring out aimlessly at nothing.

"Thank you." Nathan muttered.

"You don't have to thank me." Lucas muttered back. He was happy to be here, honored in fact.

Nathan only nodded and silence once again engulfed them.

A minute later, Nathan was surprised to see Dr. Anderson come walking through the room.

"Dr. Anderson?" Nathan asked as he stood up.

"Luckily, I was in the hospital when they brought Haley in so I was there in the OR." Dr. Anderson replied.

"How is she? How's the baby?" Nathan quickly asked.

"They're both stable. We managed to stop the bleeding but Haley lost a lot of blood." Dr. Anderson replied. "Even though you broke Haley's fall Nathan, there was still trauma to the stomach, that coupled with the stress of everything that happened caused tearing in the tissue surrounding the fetus and hence the bleeding."

"But they're going to be fine right!" Nathan asked.

"Their stable." The Doctor said carefully. "Haley is still unconscious, which necessarily isn't a bad thing. It means that Haley is healing herself.

"But?" Lucas finally spoke up.

"If she doesn't wake up then it get's complicated. She can slip into a coma and we might have to extract the baby prematurely."

"And Haley?" Nathan asked.

"Let's worry about one thing at a time Nathan. Haley's vitals look good, so we're hopeful." The doctor cleared his throat. "She can wake up now or hours from now hours. It all depends on Haley but the sooner she wakes up the better it'll be for both of them. I'm sorry I can't give you anymore than that. We just have to wait." Dr. Anderson stated. "But be hopeful, your son and Haley, they're both fighters." Dr. Anderson padded Nathan's shoulder. "The nurses are wheeling her into ICU, once she's settled in, you can visit."

Lucas draped his arm around Nathan and felt his brother shake slightly. Nathan hunched over, a blank expression on his face.

"Thank you Dr." Lucas replied and the doctor gave Lucas a sympathetic smile before exiting the room.

They both sat back down in silence and it was a few minutes later than a nurse walked. The same nurse that helped Lucas fill out the paper work for Dan.

"I got this." Lucas got up and stood by the door to talk to the nurse. Nathan didn't need to be burdened anymore than he needs to be.

"What's the update?"

"We have good news, we have a heart that's compatible with your father."

"So he's going to be okay?" Lucas asked.

"He's not out of the woods yet. Once the heart gets transplanted, there's always a chance of rejection. They already started the transplant operation. I'll get back to you as soon as I get an update."

"Thank you." Lucas replied softly and took a seat back next to Nathan.

"How's Dan?" Nathan asked. In all the chaos it was easy to forget that his father was also fighting for his life.

"He had a heart attack but they found a heart for him. They're operating on him now."

"So he's going to be okay?" Nathan asked.

"If his body doesn't reject the heart."

Nathan nodded in silence.

"It was Rachel." Lucas said softly. "She was the passenger of the car. The women driving the car was Dan's secretary, Renee."

"What?" Nathan turned to face him. "What're you talking about?"

"When I reached Dan, he looked so mad. He yanked Rachel out of the car and was about to punch her if I hadn't stopped him. Then he had the heart attack. She's still alive but the driver, Dan's secretary. She's dead."

"The fuck?" Nathan asked confused. He didn't know what was going on. "Why the hell are you only telling me this now?"

"Because you were a mess. You're still a mess. I don't want you to do anything stupid."

"Where the fuck is she?" Nathan got up but Lucas halted him.

"Don't Nate. The police are outside her room waiting for her to wake up."

"She's responsible for this!" Nathan gritted out. "What the hell is Dan's secretary doing with her?" Nathan was even more confused.

Lucas took out his cell phone. Luckily his mom brought it with her to the café when he arrived.

"The question is, what were you doing?" Lucas asked as he showed a picture of Nathan from Andre's birthday. "I saw this when I was scrolling through Q's pictures. I texted the picture to myself."

"What the hell?" Nathan muttered as he saw the photo. It was now making sense why the woman in Dan's office looked so familiar. "When I saw Dan, I saw her. She looked familiar but I couldn't figure out from where."

"Do you remember what she said to you?"

"She just asked for a photo, I thought she was a fan." Nathan looked puzzled. "When I saw Dan tonight, he said he took care of them. God this is all my fault." Nathan felt his stomach drop.

"Nathan, don't!"

"But Luke."

"No Nate, don't do this to yourself. Look, let me deal with this. Haley needs you Nathan. You're son needs you." Lucas gripped Nathan by the shoulder.

Nathan took a deep breath to calm himself down. Right now those two were top priority everything else can wait. "Do what you can, get Clay to help if you need it. If Dan is somehow involved in all this, he's going to wish he died tonight." Nathan gritted out.

Lucas was about to speak when a nurse came inside.

"Mr. Scott." Both brothers turned around. "Mr. Nathan Scott." The nurse clarified. "Miss James is in ICU now. You can come visit."

"Go, Haley needs you." Lucas motioned for Nathan to follow the nurse. "I'll do what I can."

* * *

Lucas glanced inside Haley's room. She was wheeled in a few hours ago and she was still unconscious. Nathan was by her bed side, his head hung low clutching onto her hand. Lucas felt like they've been here forever but it was early morning now and it was still pitch dark outside. He decided to walk to clear his head and he found himself standing outside Rachel's room a few minutes later.

He saw one of the policemen leave to go to the restroom and so he made his play to go inside. Looking around to make sure no one saw him, Lucas entered the room.

He walked up to Rachel slowly. Her body was turned to the side. He moved around the bed and got a good look at her. She was sporting a nasty black eye as well as a bunch of cuts and bruises. She looked up at him and a flash of recognition showed through her eyes.

"I take it, that you know who I am." Lucas took a seat next to the bed.

"What were you doing trying to kill my brother and my best friend? Blackmail wasn't enough for you."

"Renee wasn't supposed to be involved." Rachel sniffled. "You're father paid her to keep an eye on you and your brother."

"What do you mean Dan hired Renee to watch me and Nathan?"

"I don't know. He just wanted to see what you guys were up to. He paid Renee well and I thought I could cash in on it when I found out Nathan knocked some girl up."

"She's not some girl. She's my best friend and you nearly killed her! And my nephew!"

"Who cares!" Rachel cried out. "Renee is dead! She's gone and it's all your brother and dad's fault! If Nathan would've just paid me then none of this would've happened."

"You're delusional." Lucas couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I'm going to make sure you pay for what you did."

"What I did! Renee is gone because of your family!"

"My brother and Haley were innocent in all this. If you need someone to blame, look at the mirror." Lucas said in disgust and got up and left.

"What were you doing in there?" The officer asked Lucas but once he saw Lucas' face, he instantly realized who he was. "You're.. you're the mayor's son right?"

Lucas nodded.

"How's your father?" The police office asked concerned. For all the crap pulled on his sons, he was actually a half decent mayor.

"In surgery… look I just wanted to see who she was."

"Look son, get out of here. You were never here."

"Never where?" Lucas questioned as he took a couple of steps back and the officer just smiled and continued to stand in front of the door.

. . . . . . .

"Do you want coffee?" Peyton asked softly from the doorway. "A snack?" Peyton asked again.

"I need Haley to wake up Peyton." Nathan looked up, his tear stricken face. "That's what I need."

"I'm so sorry Nathan." Peyton's heart broke even more. "If there's anything you need, we're just down the hall."

Nathan nodded. "Hey Peyton." Nathan called out before Peyton could leave.

"Do you know why Haley wearing this?" Nathan reached over to the nightstand and grabbed Haley's necklace.

Peyton took a hold of it and looked the diamond ring attached to it.

"Peyton please tell me." Nathan pleaded.

Peyton didn't have the heart not to tell him, especially since he looked so broken. "She was going to say yes Nate. She wanted to ask you to marry her." Peyton let a few tears slide down her face as she handed the necklace back to Nathan.

Nathan felt his heart hammer in his chest. And he took a minute to compose himself. He wanted he and Haley to spend the rest of their lives together. To know she wanted the same thing swelled his heart but if she doesn't wake up, Nathan quickly started to panic again. She would spend the rest of her life with him and not the other way around. Nathan didn't know if he could live with that. He tried to push away such thoughts. This wasn't the time for it. Married or not, he would stay by Haley through the anything. A ring on her finger didn't mean anything, it was what's inside their hearts and in their hearts, they were already man and wife.

"In all the madness, I forgot to ask, did you get a hold of Haley's mom?" Nathan tried to think of anything else.

"Yeah." Peyton nodded. "Karen contacted her family and Brooke and I sent word to our friends. Everyone is rooting for Haley to pull through."

Nathan smiled softly as Peyton left and then looked back down at Haley and held her hand up to his lips and gently kissed it.

"You see that babe, everyone is rooting for you." Nathan said softly. "So I need you to wake up. I mean, just move one of your fingers.. just move one of your beautiful fingers to let me know that you're still here. That you're still with us."

Nathan held onto her hand tight but he felt nothing.

. . . . .

Lucas rushed out of the hospital and let the cool night air hit his face. He felt sick, literally sick to his stomach after what he found out with Rachel. His dad had a lot to answer to. There were still so many questions but one thing that was for sure was that Dan was more involved in this than any of them realized. Lucas figured that Dan didn't know about the blackmail attempt but he still needed to know what was going on with Renee. Why was she watching him? Lucas felt violated and disgusted and now Haley is unconscious and could lose the baby. Lucas felt sick and he leaned his back against the wall to try to brace himself.

"Luke.. you okay?" Brooke came rushing out of the exit. She saw Lucas looking very upset and saw that he was making a bee line for the exit.

"I'm not okay, nothing is okay?" Lucas wiped his eyes and slump down to the floor.

"Aww Luke." Brooke sniffled and bent down next to him and gave him a hug.

"I'm here Luke if you need me." Brooke said sincerely.

Lucas tried his best to smile at her and he caressed her cheeks with his free hand. "Thank you.. pretty girl."

"God, you Scott boys always the same. Is it your default setting to be so charming?" Brooke blushed and turned away. She thought she was here for him.

"No, it's the truth." Lucas said softly. " Lucas continued to stroke her cheek. "Life is short Brooke. Look at what happened to Nathan and Haley. They wasted five years, when they could've been together." Lucas let his hands fall to his side. "I know we could never be anything Brooke, but I want you to know that.. that I love you."

"Luke.. I .." Brooke started to shake her head.

"Brooke, it's okay. You don't need to say anything. I'm not expecting anything. I know neither of us are looking for a relationship especially given our history but I want to let you know what an amazing person you are Brooke Davis. You never know, something could happen and I would never be able to let you know that."

"Don't talk like that Luke." Brooke slumped down next to him and she let Lucas wrap his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Everything is going to be okay." Brooke said softly. "It has to be."

* * *

Nathan felt the faint movements of Haley's fingers starting to move. Nathan's head short up and he wondered if he was dreaming.

"Hales?" Nathan called out.

He watched for a second as Haley's hands started to move and her eyes started to flutter open.

"Hey." She said hoarsely once she saw him.

"Hey yourself." Nathan sniffled and smiled back at her. "I've missed you.. God I've missed you!" Nathan cried out and hugged Haley. He buried his head at the crook of her neck and to come so close to loosing her made him cry out all over again. Once Nathan finally got a hold of himself, he immediately called the nurses and doctors over to check on Haley.

Shortly there after, Dr. Anderson was called in to check on the baby. Nathan sat down next to Haley, her hand in his. Dr. Anderson was setting up the sonogram and he turned to the young couple.

"Now you know there are no guarantees in medicine but as long as we can locate a heart beat, there's no reason to believe that your baby won't grow up to be perfectly healthy."

Nathan and Haley waited anxiously as the doctor started moving around the probe. Silence engulfed the room and then slowly but surely they heard a small steady thump that only got louder and louder.

The doctor looked back at them and smiled.

Haley and Nathan turned to each other and kissed each other on the lips. The doctor took a couple of readings of the baby and once he was satisfied, the doctor stood up.

"From what I see, the baby is doing fine. But I'm going to recommend you spend another night here in the hospital to monitor your vitals and take it easy. You and the baby have gone through a lot, we're going to take every precaution we can."

"Thank you doctor." Nathan got up and shook his hand and he let the young couple have a moment.

As soon as the doctor left, the emotional weight of everything hit Haley and her eyes started to swell and she buried her head against Nathan's chest.

"It's okay babe. Everything's going to be okay." Nathan rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. He shed plenty of tears tonight and he'd never been put more through the ringer than what he had gone throught tonight. But Haley and their son, his whole world was once again complete. He came so close to losing it all, he never wanted to go through that ever again.

It took Haley a minute to calm down but once she did she pulled back and Nathan wiped her tears with his thumb. Haley reached for neck but realized something was missing.

"Looking for this?" Nathan reached into his pocket and pulled out her necklace.

Haley smiled when she saw the diamond ring dangling in front of her.

"Yes, I've been looking for that." Haley choked out. "Look Nathan, I didn't get a chance to tell you.. to ask you.. actually.."

Nathan pulled the necklace back and shook his head.

"No Hales, I'm not letting you steal my thunder." He smirked as he took the ring out from the necklace.

"Someone told me that you were going to ask me something tonight." Nathan held the ring out in front of her.

Haley smiled and was about to say something but Nathan placed his lips over hers to silence her. Then he got on one knee in front of the bed, "I get to ask the questions here and Haley James, will you.."

"YES!" Haley rushed out.

"I didn't get to finish the question." Nathan chuckled. "Marry me Hales?" A wide smile adorning his face.

"Yes yes yes.. a million times yes." Haley had tears down her face. This time Nathan didn't mind her crying because these were tears of joy that both of them had.

Nathan slipped the ring on her ring finger and kissed her again. "Perfect fit." He smiled as the two locked foreheads together.

"No, it's not." Haley pulled back and Nathan looked at her curiously.

"Nathan my biggest fear is losing you and the baby." Haley choked out. "And tonight it came so close."

"Hales, it's okay. You made it.. _we made it."_

"It's not enough." Haley shook her head and Nathan looked at her confused.

"Nathan, I'm ready to spend to start the rest of my life and I'm happy to spend it with you."

"Same here."

"I'm ready to start now." Haley asserted. "I don't want to wait. I want to marry you now."

"Now? Like right now."

"Yes Nathan." Haley nodded. "We wasted so much time, I don't. I don't want to waste anymore… Unless you don't want to?"

"No no of course, I do." Nathan ran his hand through her hair. "I just want to make sure that this is what you want."

"This is what I've wanted since I was 16 years old." Haley looked into his eyes, not a trace of doubt could be found. "So what do you say Nathan Scott, build a life with me?"

"I say that you completely stole my thunder." Nathan smiled, a huge smile on his face and kissed Haley deeply. "Okay, let's do it. Let's get married now."

* * *

"Careful, it's not a basketball, hold it more carefully." Brooke warned as she handed Lucas the bouquet of white lilies that Haley would hold.

"Brooke, where did you find those?" Haley asked.

"If it helps, he was in a coma and he wouldn't enjoy these flowers anyway."

"Brooke!" Haley admonished.

"Don't work yourself up Hales." Brooke fixed her hair real quick. "I'll give it back after the ceremony. Now I got to make sure everything is set. I'll see you out there tutor bride." Brooke gave Haley a quick hug and left the room.

"I don't know how Brooke was able to pull it off." Lucas chuckled as he took in Haley's appearance.

Everyone was so relieved when Haley woke up and so happy when they found out that her and the baby were okay. But everyone's mouth did drop when Nathan announced that they were going to get married… right now.

Brooke immediately sprung into action and started to get things ready. Brooke went to Nathan's house and grabbed a black suit for Nathan to wear. She also grabbed a spare suit of Nathan for Lucas to wear. For Haley, she found a white dress, simple v-cut that went down to the knees. It wasn't anything glamorous but it was simple and pretty and most of all it fit. Haley bought it not too long ago and was going to wear it to the shower if she hadn't gone shopping with Brooke earlier.

Karen was able to track that the Champlain to have him perform the ceremony and Haley picked a location for the quick and simple ceremony, the gardens at the hospital just off the cafeteria. When her mom was sick, she would spend some time there and she even had lunch there with Nathan and the girls before. It was beautiful, quiet haven in an otherwise busy hospital.

"That's Brooke for you." Haley smiled as she waited eagerly for the nurse to come in a wheel her away. "You must thing we've gone mad for doing this so soon after the accident."

"You call it madness, but I call it love." Lucas shrugged. "And you and Nathan are most definately in love." Lucas smiled and handed Haley her bouquet of flowers. "I'm going to see if Brooke needs any help."

"Luke." Haley called out. "I know the nurse is going to wheel me downstairs but I'd love it.. I mean if you would."

"Huh?"

"If i could walk, I would ask you to walk with me but.. would you wheel me down the isle?" Haley asked hesitantly.

"Haley I don't know what to say."

"Say yes."

Lucas laughed. "Of course. I'm honored to give you away Hales.. although you know that I could never truly give you away."

Haley chuckled and extended her arms, indicating she wanted a hug from her best friend.

Dr. Anderson was a little hesitant to let this wedding go through but Nathan and Haley looked so hopeful that he couldn't turn them down. Haley promised to go straight back to her room after the quick ceremony. As much as Nathan and Haley wanted this, they wanted to make sure their baby boy was okay first. It wasn't the ideal wedding they had in mind but both couldn't wait a second longer with out beign declared man and wife.

A knock on the door broke Haley and Lucas' embrace.

"Ready?" The nurse asked with a wheel chair in tow.

. . . . .

Nathan looked around him and couldn't believe this was actually going to happen. He'd been waiting so long for this and now it's finally here. He had to pinch himself a few times to make sure this wasn't a dream. It was still a little dark out but the sun was slowly rising. The darkness of the night was now giving way to the light of the day and Nathan thought that the start of a new day was the perfect backdrop for the beginning of his life with Haley as husband and wife. There was a small gazebo in the garden that they would have the ceremony in and Peyton was able to "find" some flowers and strewn them along the grass to make a makeshift path.

Nathan straightened out his suit.

"How do I look?" He turned to Clay.

"Not as good as me." Clay smirked. Clay was still wearing his suit from last night at the party in Atlanta.

"Yeah but you still smell like bacon."

"Hey!" Clay complained. "Look, where are thing rings?" Clay extended his hand.

"Umm.. all the stores are closed so I'm just using Haley's engagement ring."

"Okay, where is it?"

Nathan looked at him confused.

"Come on Nate, as your best man, I should at least hold the only ring we have."

"About that." Nathan cleared his throat. "Luke has the ring." He mumbled.

"So I should get it from him. Right, I should?" Clay eyed Nathan curiously but he just stayed quiet.

"Shh, we're about to start." Nathan hushed Clay and motioned for him to stand on the stairs and then he smiled to the Chaplain.

Mouth stood off to the side, Peyton's camera in hand and Karen stood in the front next to some of their friends who waited at the hospital.

Peyton was in front of them now and slowly started to walk towards them. Brooke followed suit. Peyton and Brooke stood on the stairs. Then they all looked back to see Lucas rolling Haley in.

Nathan smiled at his beautiful bride and he felt his heart beat faster as she got closer. When she was at the foot of the gazebo, Lucas helped her up and she slowly climbed the stairs. Nathan and Lucas smiled at each other and gave a quick hug before Nathan took a hold of his bride to be. Lucas was proud and honored to be Nathan's best man. He'd wrestle with bringing the whole Renee situation up but it could wait. Right now it was him and Haley's time. Everything else could wait.

"You're in my spot." Lucas hissed as he forced Clay down one more stair so that Lucas stood taller and closer to Nathan.

Clay rolled his eyes and Nathan couldn't help but chuckle. He didn't have the heart to tell Clay that Lucas was his best man.

"_I love you." _Nathan mouthed to Haley and she repeated the action before turning to the pastor.

"Friends and Family.." The pastor started to speak. "We are gathered on this fine morning to witness the union between Nathan Scott and Haley James." He turned to Nathan.

"Nathan.. is it your intention to seek marriage with this woman?"

"Yes." Nathan answered.

"Haley, is it you intention to seek marriage with man?"

"Yes." Haley smiled back and the two squeezed each other's hands.

"Nathan and Haley have given their intention to enter in the union of marriage, if there is anyone here who objects, let them speak now." The pastor announced and the place stayed quiet.

"Nathan and Haley, you two have been through so much, through ups and downs, tragedies and triumphs. There are many things I can say to the two of you today but instead I choose to listen to the words you have for each other." The pastor smiled and nodded to Haley.

Haley looked into Nathan's deep blue eyes and took a deep breath.

"WAIT!"

Everyone whipped their heads around and found Julian running over to him. He hunched over and was slightly out of breath.

Nathan let go of Haley's hands. "What the hell?" Nathan gritted out and started to walk down the stairs.

"You can't get married!" Julian said breathlessly.

To Be Continued . . . .


	29. Truth Doesn't Make a Noise

The Search For Something More

Chapter 29 - Truth Doesn't Make a Noise

Thank you all for the reviews and I hope that I surprise you with how the chapter starts and ends lol. I can't say that I didn't smile when I saw all the Julian bashing. We'll see how you feel about him after this chapter lol. I'm sorry for the delay in updating, I was extremely busy with some travels the past few days. I promise to make it up, keep an eye out for something tomorrow or Tuesday, especially if you're a fan of my stories! I hope you enjoy this one and please review.

. . . . . .

"WAIT!"

Everyone whipped their heads around and found Julian running over to them. He hunched over and was slightly out of breath.

Nathan let go of Haley's hands. "What the hell?" Nathan gritted and was about to walk down the stairs but Lucas halted him.

"You can't get married!" Julian said breathlessly.

"Let go Luke, I'm going to kill him." Nathan turned to his brother.

"Nathan, hold up." Haley pleaded. _What the hell is Julian doing here? He better have a good explanation for this_. Haley thought.

"Yeah hold up." Julian said panting as he started walking forward. "You.. you can't get married .. yet." Julian was a little winded. He made a bee line from the parking lot to get to the gardens at back of the hospital in time.

"Yes Haley-bop, you can't get married yet." Lydia smiled as she appeared from around the corner. "Not at least with out me."

"Mom!" Haley clutched her chest. If she could walk straight, she'd probably run to her mom but she stayed firm at her spot on the make shift alter.

Lydia came walking up as fast as she could and mother and daughter immediately hugged.

"Mom, what're you doing here?"

"I can ask you the same thing." Lydia sniffled. "When I found out what happened, I just had to get back here. There were no flights I could take.. at least no commercial flights." Lydia turned her head to look at Julian. "Julian helped charter a private flight to get us both here from LA."

Everyone turned their eyes to Julian.

"Thank you Julian.. I .. I don't know what to say." Haley said surprised.

"Say you'll marry me instead?" Julian joked but Nathan definitely did not think it was funny and continued to glare at him.

"Kidding." Julian turned to Nathan and put his hands up in mock surrender.

"Haley, it was nothing." Julian spoke up. "I wanted to get back here too and I found out your mom was stuck in LA as well and I pulled some strings through my dad."

"Thank you." Nathan cleared his throat. "Thank you for doing this." Nathan took Haley's hand again.

"Yes Julian, thank you." Haley replied and then turned to her mom. "And thank you for being here."

"Although I could ring your neck for trying to get married with out me." Lydia replied.

"Mom, I'm sorry, it's just.."

"Oh Haley-bob, I'm just teasing. I'm surprised you and Nathan didn't get hitched already." Lydia stepped up and hugged her daughter one more time. "You may not believe it but there was a time when I was young and in love like you. As long as this is what you really want, I couldn't be happier for you."

"It is mom." Haley nodded. Lydia smiled and then turned to Nathan to give him a hug as well.

"Take care of her, Nathan. She's my last one." She padded his back.

"I will Lydia and thanks." Nathan smiled as he pulled back.

"Shall I continue?" The pastor asked.

"Oh yes, by all means." Lydia stepped down and stood next to Karen.

"Umm.. so where were we?" The pastor laughed as did everyone else. "Right, there are a lot of things I can say about Nathan and Haley but instead I choose to listen to the words you have for each other."

Haley took a deep breath. "Nathan, it's been said that there is one word to free us from the weight and pain of life, and that word is love. And I believe that. It doesn't mean that it hasn't been hard, or that it won't be. It just means that I found a stillness and a bravery in myself with you. You make me brave and I will love you until the end of time. This I vow today." Haley said with tears in her eyes.

The priest nodded over to Nathan and he took a deep breath.

"Saying, I love you just doesn't seem enough." Nathan squeezed her hand. "You're my whole world Hales.. you and the family we created. I find it hard sometimes to think that you love me too. Everyone knows I'm a screw up, I've made mistakes but you managed to see all past that .. you've seen something in me that I didn't even see in myself.. and I.. I find your goodness staggering Haley, your kindness is overwhelming .. you saved my life Hales and I will love you even after my last breath, this I vow today.. always and forever."

"Always and forever." Haley mouthed back as she fought back the tears that were threatening to escape.

"Now the rings." The pastor turned to Nathan. Nathan nodded over to Lucas. Lucas pulled out Haley's engagement ring.

"We only have one." Nathan muttered.

"I can fix that." Lydia raised her hand and took a few steps forward. Lydia grabbed a hold of the necklace she was wearing and removed a gold band from it. Then she took the gold band that was around her own finger.

"Mom.. I can't this is your's and dad's wedding rings." Haley protested.

"You're father and I shared over 30 years of marriage, 6 kids.. 9 soon to be 10 grandchildren and a lifetime of memories and I want that for you.. your father would've have wanted it for you, so take it missy, I'm not taking no for an answer." Lydia handed it over to the pastor. "Besides, think of this as a wedding present and there's no return or exchange policy."

Haley nodded, the tears now spilling from her eyes. Nathan wiped with his thumb and they both looked back to the priest.

"I can take those." Clay stepped forward but Lucas halted him.

"Back off." Lucas warned as he took the rings from Lydia and then handed them to the priest.

Nathan and Haley chuckled, a much needed relief after what just happened. After that, everything felt like a blur to Nathan. They exchanged rings and Nathan didn't even wait for the priest to announce them as husband and wife for Nathan swooped in and kissed Haley.. the mother of his child.. his wife. In that moment, it was only the two of them and neither of them could hear the cheers and applause from their friends and family.

. . . . . .

They posed for pictures with their friends and family for a couple of minutes before leaving. The doctor gave strict orders that Haley should be on bed rest. Nathan wheeled her back into the hospital and helped her get into bed.

Nathan placed a kiss on her forehead and smiled down at her.

"I'm going to find a cot they could wheel in here."

Haley nodded.

"You going to be okay?"

"Yeah, come back soon." Haley leaned forward and gave Nathan a peck on the lips. As he headed out of the room, Nathan saw Julian lurking by the doorway.

Nathan paused and the two looked each other in the eye.

"Go on." Nathan motioned Julian into the room. Whatever feelings he had for him, or his past with Haley, Nathan couldn't fault Julian for interrupting their wedding and bringing Lydia to Haley. He'd always be grateful for that. Nathan couldn't even blame Julian for loving Haley, he fell for her spell long before Julian ever met Haley.

Julian and nodded and slowly entered the room.

"Hey." Haley said softly.

"Hey yourself." Julian took a seat next to Haley.

"Thank you again for what you did."

"I told you Hales, it was nothing. When I found out about your accident. I had to come and I was glad I was able to get your mom to come with me.. but I have to admit that once the plane landed and I saw that text that you were okay and getting married, it threw me for a loop."

"I know this wasn't easy for you to do, to see me get married to Nathan."

"No, it wasn't." Julian shook his head. "It was probably the hardest thing I had to endure but in a way, I needed to see it. I needed to see you up there and proclaim to the world that you want to spend the rest of your life with someone other than me. It's what I need to move on."

"Julian Baker, you are a wonderful man and one day you will make some woman very happy."

"I hope so." Julian looked down.

"I know so." Haley squeezed his hand. "And if not, I do know a couple of single ladies who would love to have you."

"Brooke's cute but I saw her and Lucas having eye sex during the ceremony, I don't need to lose another girl to a Scott." Julian tried to lighten the mood.

"Well not one of my good friends, that'd be just too weird." Haley playfully rolled her eyes. "Look Julian," Haley said in a more serious tone.

"I can't say again how thankful I am for what you did and I am so sorry for how it ended with us. I want you to know that I did love you and it was because of that, that I had to end it with us. When I found out Nathan was thrown out of a window and paralyzed, I had to see him and when I did, that's when I knew deep down that I never truly fell out of love with him and it wasn't fair to you. You deserve someone who will give you their whole heart and I knew that person wasn't me. I couldn't lead you on into thinking there would be a future with us when my heart was stuck in the past." Haley let out a shakey breath. She at least owed Julian that much.

"I know that now." Julian squeezed her hand back. "But seeing you happy today despite everything that happened to you in the past 24 hours.. I mean it helps .. because all I ever wanted is for you to be happy and I know that you are."

Haley looked down at the gold ring on her finger. "I am happy."

. . . . . . .

Nathan shut the blinds. The morning sun was now blazing through the windows and Nathan tried his best to get the room as dark as possible.

"So they ran out of cots?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, it's okay." Nathan replied. "I'll just sleep on the chair."

"Nathan, that isn't good for your back. Maybe you should go home, I'll be fine."

"Sleeping on that chair is bad for my back but not being with you is bad for my heart." Nathan smirked.

"You Nathan Scott are quite the charmer."

"Well you haven't even seen me at my A game." Nathan leaned over and gave Haley a quick peck on the lips.

"Oh lord help me if that's true." Haley giggled. Nathan took a seat across from her and squeezed her hand.

"You need to get some rest."

Haley thought for a moment. "Kick off your shoes." Haley ordered and she scooted to the side of the bed.

"Haley what're you doing?"

"You're getting on this bed with me."

"But Hales."

"No buts Nathan. We're married now and I won't spend my wedding night.. morning ..whatever, without you next to me. Now come on. There's plenty of space."

Nathan knew she was right. When they would sleep on his king bed, they only took a small portion of it up because they would always sleep entangled in each other.

Nathan kicked off his shoes and joined Haley in bed. He wrapped an arm around her and she instantly saddled onto his side and rested her head on his shoulder. Nathan laced his free hand with Haley and brought it to his lips.

"I know this wasn't how you wanted your wedding to be."

"It's exactly how I imagined it would be." Haley said softly.

"Really?" Nathan asked amused.

"I remember when my older siblings got married, it was so busy and sometimes it became more about the seating arrangements, or the dress and all that stuff and not about the actual marriage. So I just hoped that when I got married, I would meet a man that would make all those other things seem trivial and I have. I had an image of what my wedding and while this isn't exactly what I had in mind, I imagined the perfect husband and a marriage built out of love… some always search for more ..but I don't have to. Not anymore."

Nathan smiled and kissed the top of her forehead.

"I pictured my wedding just like this." Nathan replied.

"Exactly like this?" Haley quipped.

"Not exactly." He laughed. "But you in my arms and you carrying my last name… I couldn't ask for more either." Nathan smiled back.

. . . . .

"Are you going to see him?" Haley asked as she watched Nathan continue to pack the rest of her items into a small suitcase. The doctors had kept Haley in the hospital longer than expected, a week to be exact but they wanted to make sure everything was okay before discharging her.

"Nope." Nathan quickly replied.

"But he's your father."

"Which makes it all that worse." Nathan sighed. He'd been wresting for the past week to see his father. Nathan found out that Dan's secretary Renee was hired by Dan to spy on him and Lucas but Renee was also the girlfriend of his would be blackmailer, Rachel. Now Renee was dead and Rachel was now in jail. Rachel's charges had nothing to do with the car accident but for tax evasion. Rachel was drunk and said that she doesn't remember what happened. Since Renee was the driver and died in the crash, the police had no choice but to rule it an accident. However, Rachel did owe Uncle Sam a lot of money and never paid him. Needless to say, he was glad that Rachel was out of his life for good. But Dan's whole role in this still troubled Lucas and Nathan. They didn't think that Dan had anything to do with the blackmail scheme but Dan still went behind their backs.

"Nathan, I know that this has been bothering you."

"Of course it does, he introduced those bitches into our lives and they tried to kill us."

"I'm not saying what Dan did was right but you owe it to yourself to see him Nathan."

"What for?" Nathan asked. "I don't owe him anything."

"No you don't but aren't you curious as to what he had Renee do?"

"It's my dad, he's full of mind games and I don't want to play them anymore."

"But he's still your dad." Haley took a deep breath. "Look Nathan, whatever you decide to do, I'll support you no matter what."

"And I love you for that Hales but I'm tired of all this, I'm tired of him. One way or another he always finds a way to hurt me and the people around me."

"Then don't let him hurt you anymore Nathan. You're a much stronger man than you give yourself credit for."

"And my strong hands might ring his throat if I see him." Nathan half joked but he and Haley knew that he was also have serious.

"Anyways, enough about Dan." Nathan shook his head. "You excited to go home?"

"Yes. It'll be nice to be back in more familiar settings and back in our bed."

"Tell me about it." Nathan agreed. "The mattress they have is crap." Nathan rubbed his back.

"Is your back okay?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, luckily we don't ever have to sleep in here again."

"You sure? Maybe you need to get it checked out."

"Hales, it's fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Nathan laughed and leaned in kissed Haley's forehead. "Now I got to fill out some more paper work and then we can head out."

Haley nodded.

"And I'll think about seeing Dan. He can only hurt me if I let him, right?"

"Right." Haley leaned up and kissed him again. After Nathan left the room, she reached for her phone and started to dial. She was still worried over Nathan's health. Her dream of Nathan collapsing on the court still scared her. She knew that Nathan's test had come out negative but there was still that feeling in the back of her mind.

Haley called the lab where Nathan and Lucas got tested and waited for a minute before she got transferred to the appropriate department.

"Screen Gem Labs, Mary speaking, how can I help you?"

"Hi, Mary. My name is Haley James." Haley then quickly added. "Scott… Haley James-Scott. My husband is Nathan Scott, he and his brother took an HCM test not too long ago."

"Yes, I remember. I personally did the test myself."

"I was wondering if pain medication could somehow alter the test results."

"There's a possibility, depending on the drugs. But we make sure to run multiple tests and ask for the patient's medical history to cover all our bases. You should be receiving the full detailed account of all the testing in the mail, which double checks for everything including any abnormalities that could occur due to any drug interaction." Mary replied. "In fact, let me look you up real quick, I believe everything was finished with this case."

"Thank you." Haley could hear Mary typing on the other end.

"Scott, right?" Mary continued to type.

"Yes."

"Okay.. Scott. Got it." Mary replied as she pressed some more keys. "Yep a letter was mailed out yesterday so you should receive it today or tomorrow.," Mary read off the computer screen, "but let me pull the full results," Mary pressed more keys, "let's see testing results for HCM … negative."

Haley sighed in relief.

"And positive." Mary added a second later.

. . . . . .

Nathan finished signing the discharged papers for Haley as well as some other medical forms for insurance purposes. He was on his way back to Haley's room when he stopped near the cardiac wing of the hospital. Dan's heart transplant was a success and his recovery was going well. Dan's body did not reject the donor heart and by next week, Dan should be able to go home. Nathan stood there and debated to go in or not. While he was fairly certain that he didn't want anything to do with Dan, there was the small part of him that wondered about everything. Haley was right, no matter what Dan was his father. Nathan was going to be a father soon himself and one of his biggest fears was that he wouldn't be good enough, that he'd somehow end up being like Dan. He saw how unbearable his grandfather was to Dan and Dan passed it on to him. Nathan wanted to end the vicious cycle and deep down Nathan knew that in order for him to truly break free, he'd need to face Dan instead of avoiding him like what he's been doing for the past couple of years.

"Nathan." Dan muttered as he saw Nathan standing by the door way.

"Dad." Nathan said wearily as he entered the room.

"I hear congratulations are in order." Dan looked down and saw the gold band on Nathan's finger. "Now I have a daughter and grandson on the way." Dan tried to smile but Nathan wasn't smiling.

"Leave them out of this Dad."

"You're angry with me, I know."

"No Dad, you don't."

"Please let me explain."

"Explain what? How you hired your secretary to spy on us? That her crazy girlfriend tried to black mail me .. or how about the fact that those two tried to run us down!" Nathan fired back. "I don't care what that police report said, it wasn't no damn accident and the only reason I'm standing here right now is because Haley pushed me out of the way!"

"Nathan.. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"It still doesn't change what happened.. or what could've happened." Nathan asserted.

Dan nodded.

"Why'd you do it? Why'd you hire Renee?" Nathan crossed his arms.

"When I was first having heart problems, it made me rethink my life and how I lived it. I regret everything that happened between us and with Lucas. I tried to reach out to both of you but you never called back."

"So you thought spying on us was going to make things right?"

"I know it wasn't right but I was desperate at the time. The doctor said I may not have much time and I just wanted to see how you two were doing. I wanted so badly to be part of your lives so that's why I hired Renee to see what you two were up to. It was never supposed to go further than that. When you came to me with Rachel and I did some digging around, I found out that Renee was playing me. She wasn't supposed to talk to you but she did anyways in the hopes of trying to get some information.. information she relayed back to Rachel. The two of them had their own agenda and that's how Rachel found out about the pregnancy before you told the press and why she tried to blackmail you. I called them out on it and told them to leave Tree Hill but then.."

"But then the accident happened." Nathan filled in the blanks. "You're unbelievable."

"Nathan.. please."

"Please what? What do you want from me?"

"I want your forgiveness. I want to be the kind of father you deserve."

"It's a little too late for that."

"It's never too late son. Look, life gave me another chance."

"Doesn't mean I have to. I don't think I could ever trust you."

"I know and you have every right to be skeptical. I've made so many mistakes.. mistakes I wish I could correct or undue… and I tried Nathan. That's why I wanted Haley to tell you about the pregnancy."

"I didn't need you butting into my life. Haley was going to tell me regardless of what you did."

"No, son you don't understand. It's my fault you guys broke up all those years ago." Dan knew that if he truly wanted forgiveness, he needed to come clean with everything.

"Yeah I remember the whole speech you gave me about letting her go but that was my fault for listening to you and going to Maryland."

Dan shook his head. "Duke wanted you." He said softly.

"Huh?"

"I told you that Duke didn't want you so that you would go to Maryland.. alone."

"No, you're lying." Nathan shook his head. "There's no way."

"I worked out a deal to get Damien West in and gave Maryland my word that you would go with them." Dan said softly.

"No.. Duke was the plan. Duke was always the plan."

"The plan was for you to get into the NBA and you did." Dan sighed. "It was wrong of me, I know. My mind was clouded with dreams of you in the NBA because I couldn't make it that far."

"No.. there's no way." Nathan shook his head in disbelief.

"Damien's dad is my cardiologist Nathan."

With out another word, Nathan reached for Dan's chart and started flipping through it. He looked down at one of the signatures, _Dr. Donald West_.

"You bastard." Nathan let the chart fall on the floor and clenched his fist.

"I'm sorry Nathan. You don't know how sorry I am but I have new lease on life and I promise to do whatever it takes to make it up to you."

"Really, huh?" Nathan could feel his temper rise. "Tell me, how much did you pay Renee for getting her heart."

Dan looked at him curiously. "Huh?"

"The heart you got was from a fatal car accident last week.. guess how many car accidents there were in Tree Hill in the past week.. I'll tell you, only one."

"This is Renee's heart." Dan clutched to his chest.

"Ironic when you think about it." Nathan replied. "You needed a new heart and you get one just as cold and manipulative." Nathan shook his head and felt his anger rise even more. His heart was beating so fast, he thought it would explode from his chest. He couldn't believe his father. There were only a few times in his life where Nathan felt this angry. The first was the night of his accident. He remembered running into Lucas, Haley and Julian. He remembered seeing how happy Haley was with another man. He saw the life he should've been living but instead he was on the outside looking in. He was mad at himself and the life he was missing out on, a life with Haley. He took his anger out on drinking and picking the first fight he could. The night ended up with him being thrown out a window and paralyzed. The second time was the morning after he slept with Haley, the morning after his unborn son was conceived. Instead of sticking around and talking to Haley, he bailed much like he did when they graduated high school. He was angry with himself once more for taking advantage of her, for forcing himself onto her. No matter how good the sex was to both of them, Nathan was ashamed. Haley had a good life, a happy life that didn't include him in it. He only wanted to see her, he never meant to go as far as sleeping with her. But instead of dealing with it the next morning, he wrote a lame note, _"Sorry" _on a yellow post it and left.

Nathan spent the last several months trying to clean up his mistakes. By some act of God, Nathan was able to get Haley's forgiveness but not only that, her love and her hand in marriage. Nathan was so angry now, he felt like he could snap at just looking at his dad. It was because of him that he missed out on the past five years of his life, not only hurting himself but everyone he cared about in the process. But unlike before, Nathan wasn't mad at himself. He was at Dan and for once Nathan had nothing to do with it. His dad had played him this whole time.

This could go one of two ways, Nathan could literally smother his dad on the spot or finally take the high road for once, something Dan could never do. It would be so easy to lash out, to attack Dan and hurt him for everything he's done but Nathan thought about Haley and their son and the life they were building. Nathan had everything to lose now and he vowed he would never lose Haley again.

Nathan closed his eyes and focused in on his wife and son. He took a deep breath and released it when he opened his eyes. He felt the weight of the world lifted from him and he finally found the strength to finally break free.

"I'm done." Nathan stated and turned around and didn't look by once despite Dan's cries for Nathan to come back.

. . . . . .

Nathan stormed out of the room and walked down the hall. He was so consumed by his thoughts that when he turned the corner he nearly bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry." Nathan mumbled.

"Nate?"

"Luke?" Nathan questioned.

"Did you just come out of Dan's room?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, were you going to see him too?" Nathan asked back.

"No actually. I went to see his doctor." Lucas had his card on his hand and held it up. Nathan glanced at it. "_Dr. Donald West, MD – Head of Cardiology_"

"West." Nathan mumbled.

"Yeah, you know he's Damien's father." Lucas shifted his feet nervously.

"Yeah, I know." Nathan rolled his eyes and tried to keep his temper in check. "Why did you see him?"

"Because he's familiar with Dan's HCM." Lucas looked down and then looked back up to his brother. "Because I have HCM too."

"What?" Nathan looked at his brother confused.

Lucas cleared his throat. "I lied." Lucas admitted. "You don't have it but I do."

Nathan took a step back. This couldn't be happening. "You looked me straight in the eye and told me you didn't have HCM!"

"I know, I'm sorry but I.."

"Save it." Nathan shook his head. He was tired of all the lies.

"I expected as much from Dan.. not from my own brother." Nathan said angrily and resumed walking, bumping shoulders with Lucas on his way out.

To Be Continued . . . . .


	30. The Places You Have Come to Fear the Mos

The Search For Something More

Chapter 30 - The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most

Hope you had a happy thanksgiving and thank you to those who reviewed. A lot more focus will be on the baby because Haley is getting further along. In dealing with the pregnancy, I was able to draw up on real life experiences. I don't want to give up too much but with that said, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review!

PS Keep Bleeding, The sequel for Thicker than Blood is also out so please check that out!

* * *

"Do you want something to eat?"

Haley shook her head.

"A drink?" Nathan asked.

Haley shook her head again. Nathan put the last of her things away and then sat down on their bed next her. They just arrived back from the hospital but both were too preoccupied with their own thoughts that neither noticed how quiet the other one was.

"Hey you okay?" Nathan asked as he saw Haley looking down, fiddling with her hands, a tale tell sign that something was definitely up.

Haley sighed and shook her head.

"What is it?" Nathan asked as he tucked away a stray piece of hair behind her ears. "Are you worried about the baby?" He said softly. There was a quiet understanding and concern they both shared about the safety of their baby.

"Well now I am." Haley replied and Nathan grimaced.

Haley had been trying really hard to stay positive and focus in on the good things in her life like her family and especially Nathan. Lately though, it's been getting harder and harder. Haley took a deep breath and looked up. "I called the lab again. That horrible nightmare I told you about, I still couldn't shake this feeling that something was wrong so I called the lab to make sure you were okay."

"But they told you Lucas has HCM." Nathan answered for her.

"You knew?" Haley looked up in surprise.

"I ran into Lucas earlier in the hospital before we left. He came to see a cardiologist, that's when he told me that he lied to me.. to all of us." Nathan replied. "All this time, I was too busy trying to figure out a way to tell you that I didn't even notice that something was up." Nathan shook his head.

"I should call him. He could use our support."

"He's fine Haley. He's the one that lied to us."

"I'm sure he has his reasons, he's sick.. he.."

"He LIED." Nathan pointed out. "And I'm tired of it. I'm tired of all of it. If Lucas wants to kill himself then so be it." Nathan got up and tried his best to reign in his anger. It was best if he left the room, he didn't want Haley to see him like this. He started heading for the door but Haley kept calling his name.

"Nathan!.. Nathan… Nathan would you please come back here. Don't make me get up!" Haley warned and Nathan stopped dead in his tracks. Nathan couldn't focus on his broken family, his dad, his brother. He had his own family that he was building that he needed to put first.

"I'm.. I'm sorry." Nathan went back to her side. "I don't mean to shut you out but I'm just not in a good mood right now and I don't want to upset you or anything."

"What's upsetting me is that you won't talk to me? So come here." Haley took his hand in hers. Nathan leaned in and gave her a tender kiss on the lips.

"I love you." He said softly.

"I love you, too." Haley replied back. "Now, I'm going to kill Lucas when I see him for lying to us but I'm still worried about him. Now what's going on with you?"

"I went to see Dan." Nathan said softly.

"Oh." Haley replied. "I guess it didn't go well." She quickly added.

Nathan shook his head.

"Oh Nathan, I'm sorry for making you see him."

"Haley, it's okay. In a way, it was good. Maybe now I can finally start moving on from him."

"What do you mean?"

Nathan paused for a second, debating whether or not to tell Haley the truth or hide it from her. It was always such a tough choice given what happened recently with the baby. But he couldn't go back to old habits. They were married now.

"Before I tell you what happened, I want you to know that I love you. That I've always loved you and even though all this bad stuff happened between us, in a way I wouldn't change it because it brought us here… it gave us a son."

"Okay." Haley squeezed his hand.

"It's just, even though a lot of crap happened to us, there's some good that came out of it and now that we're married and starting our family, it's only going to get better."

"I know." Haley smiled at him but she was really worried now about what happened with Dan. "What did Dan say to you?"

"Dan lied to me about Duke, Hales. He told me they didn't want me and convinced me to go to Maryland just so we wouldn't be together."

Haley's jaw dropped and it took her a good ten seconds before she replied. "Are you serious?" She finally answered.

Nathan nodded his head.

In a way, Haley wasn't surprised. Leave up to Dan to stoop this low. Haley closed her eyes as images of the past few years flooded her mind. All the lonely nights, the boxes of tissues spent. The memories seemed overwhelming at time but Haley opened her eyes and she saw Nathan's deep blue orbs staring back at her, his eyes filled with nothing but love and concern. She did something Nathan didn't expect her to do.

She laughed.

Nathan looked at her curiously as she continued to laugh, even harder now.

"Hales, you okay?"

"All this time.. it was him.. it was Dan all along.." Haley calmed herself down and wiped some stray tears from her face.

"I didn't know this was so funny." Nathan replied. Her hormones must be acting up again.

"I have to laugh Nathan.. I mean, it's just so funny when you think about how he wasted five years of our lives but look at where we are. We're together.. despite him, despite everything.." Haley laughed a little bit. "I spent the past five years dwelling on the past, I can't do it anymore. I won't." Haley gripped Nathan's hands tighter.

"I won't either." Nathan pressed his forehead against Haley's.

"We have more important things to worry about and Dan Scott won't be one of them any more." Haley replied as she rubbed her belly. She had hoped that there would be some sort of reconciliation between Nathan and Dan. Her own dad died too soon and even though there was no bad blood there, she always regretted not spending more time with him or getting to know him better. But Dan had hurt Nathan, had hurt them too much. "I know it's wrong to say this but if you don't ever want to see your father again, I'll totally support you."

"Thank you." Nathan leaned in and kissed her forehead. "I told him I was done with him. The mess he put us through about college, about Renee. I'm done."

Haley hugged him back and rested her head on the crook of his neck. They stayed in that position for a good minute before Haley let out a small yawn.

"Are you tired?"

"A little."

"You should rest." Nathan ran his hand up and down her back. Haley her head and then looked up at him.

"Stay with me."

Nathan lied down and pulled Haley close to him. She rested her head back on his chest and started to draw random patterns on his stomach. They laid together in silence but after fifteen minutes Nathan was surprised that Haley was still awake.

"Hey, I thought you were tired."

"Can't sleep." She replied still drawing circles on Nathan's shirt.

"What's on your mind?" Nathan asked.

"How firm your stomach is." Haley pressed her hand against Nathan's abs. Nathan couldn't help but chuckle but then he inwardly gasped as he felt Haley's hand slip under his shirt and started rubbing his taunt skin.

"Is my being girl frisky?"

"Crazy frisky." Haley sat up and kissed Nathan on the cheeks but just as quickly, she rested her head back on his chest. "But the doctor told me to refrain from s-e-x." It amazed her sometimes her mood would swing, from being extremely happy to sad. She was sometimes all over the place but Nathan, to his credit, took it all in stride.

"You can say sex in front of the baby Hales." Nathan chuckled and she instantly smacked his stomach.

"Nathan!" She scolded.

"What?" Nathan replied innocently. "I mean how do you think we became parents in the first place."

"Alcohol." Haley replied bluntly.

"I can't talk about s-e-x but your talking to our son about drinking." He smirked. Haley glared at him for a second.

"You're lucky you're so damn hot." Haley playfully smacked his cheeks.

"Is that why you married me? For my good looks." Nathan feigned hurt.

Haley chuckled and nodded her head. "You just reminded me of something."

"What, how hot a I am."

"And how cocky you are." She answered right back, "but actually.. you know what, never mind."

"What?"

"Nothing." Haley shook her head.

"Hales, what is it?"

"Ok fine, can you go in the closet, there's a blue plastic bin underneath where my coats are, dig inside and you'll find a small purple box."

"Ok." Nathan eyed her curiously before getting up and heading into their spacious walk in closet. He found the purple box a minute later and returned it to Haley.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Look for yourself." Haley opened the lid. Nathan was curious and when he peaked inside, he was surprised to find, well himself. There were some pictures of him and Haley from high school but the others were newspaper clippings and pages ripped from magazines, most of it was from his days in Maryland, there was a few from his first year on the Sonics. Nathan was speechless.

"I was hurt Nathan, but I was still proud of you, every day." Haley replied. "Well every day until after I started dating Julian, then I sort of had to stop cuz it would look weird to my boyfriend that I was collecting pictures of my ex-boyfriend.. plus it was just too hard sometimes, which is why I stopped all together and why I didn't know you were quote un-quote dating Alex DuPree a few months back." Haley held up air quotations. Nathan looked back at her with a small scowl. Haley shut her mouth. Her hormones were getting the best of her and coupled that with her ramblings, she sometimes got too carried away.

"Anyways," Haley tried to lighten the mood, "these are my favorite ones." Haley went to the bottom of the box.

"All these pictures are of me shirtless."

"Yeah." Haley sighed contently. "These pictures helped get me through some lonely night."

"Really?" Nathan raised an eyebrow. And Haley just blushed and turned a shade of red.

"Well, you don't need the pictures." He gathered everything back up on the box and dropped it down on the floor by their bed.

"Why is that?" Haley asked.

"Cuz you have me, Mrs. Scott."

"I do have you Mr. Scott." Haley replied while putting her arms around his neck. Haley pulled him close to her and they started to kiss. Haley found her hands roaming through his back and eventually to the hem of his shirt. She tugged at it, indicating she wanted it off. Nathan pulled back and replied with her request. As soon as his shirt was off, Haley licked her lips and ran her hands down his chest and onto his abs. The feel of her hands on his body sent his temperature rising and he leaned down and captured her lips once more. Nathan could feel himself losing himself in Haley but as much as they both wanted it, they couldn't.

"Baby, we have to stop." Nathan muttered against her lips. "The doctor said we shouldn't."

"I know." Haley pouted and pulled back. "This sucks."

Nathan let out a small groan. "Don't use the word _suck_ right now."

Haley couldn't help but laugh. They were married for a week now and despite being pregnant, they haven't officially consummated the marriage.

"You know." Haley looked up with a mischievous smile and started to trace a finger down his bare chest. "The doctor said, _I_ couldn't, he didn't say, _you_ couldn't."

"What're you getting at?" Nathan asked.

"Well, there's no need for both of us to be suffering." Haley ran her finger down his chest. "I can't do _it_, but _you_ can."

"You want me to go out and have, _you know_."

"Yeah, with yourself." Haley smirked and Nathan's eyes went wide.

"It is how I learned to dribble with both hands." He smirked back.

"Or I can help." Haley slipped her hand underneath Nathan's jeans, eliciting a gasp from Nathan.

He looked back at her with mischievous eyes. "I _could_ use the help."

. . . . .

A few hours later, Nathan awoke and found Haley still sleeping soundly in his arms. He looked down and noticed he was still naked and smirked. Haley was right, there was no point in both of them suffering. Haley also admitted that not sleeping with him was "suffering" certainty helped boost his ego. He was more than happy to let her have her way with him but unfortunately, Nathan couldn't return the favor. But it was still nice that the two of them were able to just be together for a little while without thinking about everything else. Even though Haley didn't get hers, she seemed to have enjoyed herself very much.

Nathan glanced at the alarm clock by his nightstand noticed that most of the day had gone by. Nathan stomach growled and if he was hungry, he could only imagine how Haley would feel once she wakes up. As best as he could, he slid his body away from her, careful not to wake her. He was determined to give Haley a proper dinner, none of this hospital food she'd been eating for the past week. Nathan managed to pry himself away and reached down to the floor to grab his boxers and his jeans. Not bothering to put on a shirt, Nathan made his way downstairs and headed straight for the kitchen. He took out some pots and pans and laid them out on the stove and was about to open the refrigerator door when he heard a knock on the door.

Nathan opened the door and was surprised to see Lucas there. Both brothers stared at each other for a moment but then Lucas started to notice the various marks on Nathan's chest and stomach.

"If you're just going to check me out, I got a box full of pictures you can have." Nathan replied.

Lucas looked at him confused for a second and shook his head. He was temporarily blinded by all the hickey marks Haley no doubt had left on Nathan. He shuddered at the thought but he pushed them out his mind. He focused on why he came here in the first place and he barged right pass Nathan.

"Sure come on in." Nathan replied sarcastically as he closed the door.

"Where's Haley?" Lucas looked around.

"Upstairs sleeping, what're you doing here Lucas?"

Lucas turned back to Nathan. "Fuck you Nathan!" Lucas pointed his finger at him but kept the volume of his voice in check. He didn't want Haley to hear this.

"Really, this should be interesting." Nathan crossed his arms.

"You have the nerve to get mad at me for something that doesn't even concern you. You of all people!" Lucas glared at him. He knew Nathan wouldn't like the news of his HCM but he didn't think that Nathan would get mad about it. "I tell one little white lie and suddenly I'm the bad guy. Geez, Nathan after all the stunts you pulled, I can't believe you can't cut me some slack especially after everything I've done for you."

"First off, it wasn't a little white lie, it was a big fucken lie." Nathan replied and started heading towards the kitchen, Lucas followed suit. "Second of all, it does concern me. If you suddenly collapsed one, you don't think it would affect me." Nathan started playing around with the pots and pan.

Lucas looked at him as if he was crazy. "I can't believe I'm hearing this. It's all about you and what you want. I can't believe you're this selfish, wait I actually I do."

"That's right. I'm supposed to be the screw up, not you!" Nathan pointed to his brother. "You're supposed to be the good one. I'm the bad one and I'm the one that has to go to you for help cuz between the baby and Dan… I can't.. I can't do this but I have to be strong for Haley and the baby," Nathan continued to ramble on "and I need my big brother to turn to because I'm scared Luke!" Nathan finally admitted, his frustration and anger boiling to the surface. "The doctor said that Haley was supposed to spend one night at the hospital, that turned into seven!" Nathan's voice cracked at the end. "And even though we haven't talked about it, I know she's just as scared as I am but she's the one depending on me and I'm left with no one cuz I sure as hell can't go to you because you have HCM and you have your own shit to deal with and it's just too much.. I can't... I can't do it." Nathan slammed his fist on the counter and put his head down.

Both brothers stood there in silence for a moment. Lucas listened to see if Haley had woken up but he didn't hear any movement. He turned back to his brother and shook his head and let out a small chuckle. "You're an idiot, Nate."

Nathan looked up at him.

"I have HCM. I'm not dying you fool."

"But you still have HCM though." Nathan said softly.

"But I'm not an athlete, at least not the one I used to be in high school. I'm on medication now and I could still live an active and long life."

Nathan nodded.

"You know, here I am the one with a heart condition and yet I'm the one trying to make you feel better." Lucas replied with a small smirk.

"It's part of my charm." Nathan shrugged. "Look, I'm sorry I flipped out on you early. I have no right to be mad at you, you caught me at a bad time. It's always one thing after the other and it's just easier to be angry with you."

"I could tell. I mean you just came from seeing Dan."

Nathan nodded. "He came out clean about the whole Renee mess. After his heart started giving out, he hired her to watch over us in some pathetic attempt to get back into our lives. But Renee two timed him by sharing the info with Rachel and well you know what happened next."

Lucas wasn't surprised. After what he found out when he talked to Rachel, he figured as much. "He's unbelievable."

"Oh get it's better." Nathan added. "He also lied to me about Duke not wanting me."

"Huh?" Lucas squinted at him.

"Duke wanted me but Dan lied to me so that I could go to Maryland instead. He played me this whole time, making me believe that breaking up with Haley was the right thing to do."

"Holy shit." Lucas muttered. "I .. I don't think he'd go that low. I mean.. wow."

"Tell me about it."

"Does Haley know?"

Nathan nodded.

"Shit, how'd she take it?"

"Pretty well actually. I think with everything's that's happened, there's no point in trying to understand it or get mad about it. You can only move on, we have more important things to worry about."

"Like the baby." Lucas added.

"Yep."

"Look Nate, what you said about dealing with it all. You can always come to me, HCM or not. But you got to give yourself some slack. You're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing. I'm proud of you for that." Nathan gave a small smile. "In fact, I think you're doing pretty well all on your own. I mean based off all the hickeys you have on your chest and stomach." Lucas teased. Nathan shifted uncomfortably for a second and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, using sex as a tool of distraction, I'm sure that's going to make me husband of the year." Nathan said sarcastically.

"Probably not but being there like you have been will. You're doing fine Nathan, believe that. Haley's lucky to have you."

"Thanks Luke." Nathan gave a small smile. "We're good right?"

"Yeah. We're good." Lucas extended his hand the two bumped fist.

"I was going to start on dinner. You should stay. I know Haley would like to see you. But I have to warn you. She knows about your HCM. She'll probably want to hug you and kill you at the same time."

"Great." Lucas replied sarcastically.

"But I mean you're okay right? You take your meds and your good?"

"Basically. But I don't know if you're cooking is good for my health though."

Nathan chuckled. "I can cook.. sort of. Besides, now that you're here, you can help out."

"So the invitation to stay was so that I could make dinner."

Nathan smirked. "Basically."

He went over to the fridge and opened the doors up. He suddenly realized that it's been a while since he or Haley went grocery shopping. Nathan closed the door and turned back to Lucas who was texting on his phone.

"Don't worry, I'm already texting my mom that I'm going to pick up some food from the café."

"Good call."

. . . . .. .

"Mr. and Mrs. Scott. The doctor is ready to see you now." The secretary called out and Nathan and Haley stood up.

"You guys go ahead, call me when you're done. I'll bring the car to the front."

"Thanks Luke." Haley replied. "But don't forget to pick up your medication from the pharmacy."

"Yes mom, I will." Lucas teased. Haley gave him a small scowl before taking Nathan's hand and heading towards the examining room.

Lucas watched them go inside before heading out himself to go to the pharmacy the hospital had. It had been a few days since Haley returned home and when Lucas admitted to Nathan he had HCM. When Lucas told his mom, Karen, like Haley, also had his mom had mixed reactions. She was certainly mad about lying but at the same time, extremely worried for Lucas' health.

But so far, it wasn't that bad. Like he told Nathan, Lucas wasn't the athlete he once was. He wasn't training for a team or trying to go pro and only played ball for fun. The heart medication slowed down his heart rate but he was still able to play sports like basketball, he just won't be as fast as he used to be. Other than taking two pills a day, it was business as usual for him. Finding out about HCM did make him think things over. He focused more on his writing, which was a good thing considering that his editor was getting on his case.

After grabbing a refill of his prescription, he was going to head back and see if Nathan and Haley were finished but he stopped when he slowed down when he passed through the rehabilitation section. From the glass windows, he could see Dan getting off a treadmill. Last he heard, Dan was doing well but after his heart attack, he needed some physical therapy. Lucas wrestled with going to see him or not but at the end, if Nathan could do it, so could he.

Dan made it back to his hospital room and took a seat on his bed. The session today was a little bit more rigorous.

"I thought they'd send you home by now." Lucas called out from the hallway.

Dan was surprised to see Lucas there but glad he was here nonetheless. "The doctors said that I could go home but there'd be no one to take care of me."

"Well you only have yourself to blame for being alone."

"I deserve that."

"You deserve worse."

"I deserve that too." It was then that Dan glanced at the bag in Lucas' hand in noticed the prescription on it.

"What's that?"

"About the only thing you ever gave me, a heart disease. Thanks Dan." Lucas replied bluntly.

"I thought you and Nathan were good?"

"Nathan is. I'm not so lucky."

"I'm sorry Lucas for this and so much more."

"I don't want your apology Dan."

"Then why are you here?"

"To tell you I'm done too." Lucas shook his head.

"So Nathan told you."

"Of course he told me. I can't believe you did that."

"It's something I'm not proud of. I was wrong. I know that now." Dan looked down.

"I used to be jealous of Nathan, the life he had, the seemingly perfect father but it was all a lie. I thought you chose Nathan and Deb over me and my mom but you actually did us a favor."

"I've made mistakes. I know that. All I can do is try to make up for it."

"You want to make it up to us, then leave us alone Dan." Lucas stated. "When you said you were dying, there was a part of me that wanted to get to know you, to see who you really were for myself. I started to think you weren't a monster but you fooled me again."

"Lucas, wait."

"Prove to me that you're a decent human being and maybe, just maybe there's a chance for you. You have a second chance at life Dan, I hope you do something with it." Lucas shook his head and headed out.

. . . . .

One Week Later

"Is everything okay?" Haley asked as Dr. Anderson stared intently at the sonogram machine. She and Nathan shared a worried look before looking back at the doctor. He had been awfully quiet for the past few minutes. Ever since the accident nearly three weeks ago, the doctor ordered that Haley come in weekly for her visits instead of her usual monthly visit. It seemed that Nathan and Haley were a permanent fixture at Dr. Anderson's office.

The doctor sighed and shook his head.

"Doc, what's going on?" Nathan asked as he gripped his wife's hand harder.

The doctor scooted his chair to the computer and started clicking on some buttons.

"This is a graph of your baby's growth, beginning with his first sonogram." The doctor pointed to the computer screen. "As you can see, your baby was progressing quite normally."

"Until the accident." Haley interrupted and the doctor nodded his head.

"The baby was in distress which is why we've been monitoring the baby very closely." The doctor zoomed into the graph, "This shows your baby's growth over the past couple of weeks. You can see the trend of your baby growing, it slowed down a little right before, which is not uncommon but after the accident it basically flat lines."

"So you mean, our baby is not growing?" Haley was one step from panicking.

"Unfortunately, that seems to be the case. The baby is not getting enough nutrients it needs. I suspected as much from your last appointments but I needed to see if the baby had grew this week. I didn't want to concern you two unless I had to. I know you two have been through enough."

"And now, what do we do now?" Haley asked very concerned.

"The next step is to induce labor."

"Labor? Already?" Nathan replied.

The doctor nodded his head.

"Haley is close to 36 weeks. 37 weeks is considered full term. Ideally we want the baby to stay in there longer but if he's not growing, we need to get him. I'm going to schedule you to come in the day after tomorrow. If I see the slightest hint of growth, I will hold off for as long as I could. But I want you guys to be prepared and pack accordingly."

"But.. but it's too soon." Haley replied.

"But the baby can still be okay right?" Nathan asked nervously.

"The sonogram only tells part of the picture. We won't know for sure until the baby arrives. For all you know, the baby will be fine, underweight but fine." The doctor replied. "But with any premature births, there are risks. Certain organs may not be fully developed like his lungs or his vascular system. But I don't want you guys to focus on that. The best thing both of you can do is rest and be positive. We have a great and dedicated team here." The doctor spoke to them for a few more minutes, answering some of their questions before exiting and giving them some privacy.

"I haven't finished decorating the baby's room." Haley replied. "There's still a ton of gifts from the baby shower that I didn't even go through." Haley had tears streaming down her face.

"Hales.."

"I thought we'd have more time. It's too soon. It's too soon." Haley cried harder. "Our boy's not ready, I'm.. I'm not ready."

"Shhh! Baby." Nathan held her tight. "It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay." He kept repeating into her ear, hoping his words would ring true.

* * *

Nathan and Haley promptly came back to the hospital the following day at 8:00 am sharp. Just as Dr. Anderson expected, there was no change. Before Haley and Nathan knew it, they were whisked away to a private room and Haley was given medication to get her dilated. By midnight, Haley was 4 centimeters along and the doctor broke Haley's water. The contractions were getting closer and closer together and it didn't take long for Haley to request the epidural as the pain increased.

"Do you want more ice cubes?" Nathan asked.

"I'm fine." Haley replied and laid her head back. So far, it wasn't as bad as she expected. She was more hungry than anything since she wasn't allowed to eat. For the most part, her and Nathan just hung out but unfortunately Haley couldn't see any other visitors. As the "coach" Nathan was the only one allowed to be with Haley. Nathan would go out every now and then and give them an update of what was going on.

"Is everyone still here?"

Nathan nodded. "They don't want to leave."

"God bless them but they do know that this could take a while." The doctor had already told them that this would most likely be a 24 hour event.

"Yeah, it's fine." Nathan kissed the top of her forehead and brushed her hair. "I gave up on trying to get Lucas to leave hours ago."

"Well maybe you should rest, it's almost one in the morning." Haley replied.

"I'm tired but there's no way I could fall asleep, how about you? How's the pain?"

"Better now that they stuck that big needle in me."

"Look Hales, you're doing a great job." Nathan squeezed her hand. He never knew love until he met Haley and today he witnessed strength on a whole new level.

"You too." Haley squeezed back.

"I just sit here." Nathan laughed back.

"You know what I mean. You've been great through out all this. I don't know how I could do this with out you."

"There's no where else I'd rather be." Nathan kissed her forehead.

"I don't know what's worse, the waiting or seeing what happens when the baby is here.. I just want him here already and safe and healthy." Haley replied.

"I know babe. But our boy's strong. He has you for a mom."

Haley nodded her head and smiled but suddenly her face grimaced.

"What is it?"

"Aww.. it.. it just hurts."

Nathan immediately got up. "Let me get a nurse."

For the next hour, Haley's contractions got closer and closer together. Despite the epidural, Haley still felt some pain.

Dr. Anderson came back to Haley's room to inspect her. He lifted Haley's gown and saw that the baby was crowning.

"Okay Haley, this is it, we need you to start pushing." Dr. Anderson announced as a team of nurses surrounded him.

Haley nodded and looked at Nathan for support. Nathan squeezed her hand tight and Haley closed her eyes and started to push.

"AHH!"

"That's it Haley, keep going." Dr. Anderson spoke up.

"You're doing so good baby. We're almost there." Nathan said softly into her ear as Haley gripped his hand tight.

"AHH!" Haley cried out and for the next few minutes, she pushed. She pushed with everything she had.

"Okay, he's here!" The doctor announced. "It's a boy." The doctor quickly swaddled him in linen and brought him over to an examining table.

"You did so good baby. We have a son." Nathan kissed Haley's forehead.

"And you're a dad." Haley cried out and rubbed Nathan's cheeks. "I want to meet him." Haley sniffled.

It was then that Nathan and Haley turned back to the doctor and nurses and noticed that they were all huddled around the baby but they couldn't make out what was going on. And what was worst was that the only sounds that could be heard were from the medical equipment and the staff in the room.

"Dr. Anderson?" Nathan called out. He stood up. Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong.

"He's not breathing!" Dr. Anderson called out and another doctor came rushing in.

For the next ten minutes, Nathan and Haley held onto each other as the doctors and nurses frantically worked on their new born son. They both had tears streaming down their faces as they clutched into each other for support. Neither of them making a sound as they prayed for some good news.

Finally the activity stopped and everyone stood still. Dr. Anderson took a step back and removed his cap. He reluctantly stepped back from the baby and removed his gloves. He glanced up at the clock and turned to one of the nurses.

"Call it, time of death.. 2:23 a.m."

To Be Continued . . . . .

This story is definitely not over and you will definitely want to read the next chapter!


	31. I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight

The Search For Something More

Chapter 31 – I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight

Thank you all for the reviews! I knew I had to get this out as soon as I could. This was probably one of the hardest chapters for me to write. There were parts I felt like crying myself lol. Some Australian readers may find something familiar in this chapter. I'll have more to say later but enjoy and please review!

PS how awesome was OTH tonight, January 25 can't come fast enough.

* * *

5 Months Later

"The red light is blinking." Haley spoke up.

"Oh wait, it's on standby." Julian stood up to fix the camera.

"Okay, it's blinking now."

"Alright, we're recording."

"Okay.' Haley replied sheepishly.

"Are you camera shy now?" Julian asked.

"A little." Haley replied as she shifted in her seat. "Why are you interviewing me again?" She was having cold feet about agreeing to do this interview.

"It's not an interview, it's a documentary about _What Comes Next_."

"I'm pretty boring. Remember I told you my nickname in high school was tutor girl."

"Well that was high school. The past five months have been.."

"Crazy." Haley added.

"Yeah." Julian replied, giving her a small smile. "Let's talk about what happened five months ago."

"My son?"

Julian nodded.

There was a long pause. "It's hard for me to think about it." Haley replied. "It still is." She hesitated about talking about her experience on camera but she knew she shouldn't keep all her emotions bottled up like that. If her story could help someone, then it was worth talking about it.

"How did you feel?" Julian questioned.

"What didn't I feel?" Haley replied back. "A car almost ran me over and I had a bad fall. I later find out that it caused some damage to the umbilical cord and my son wasn't getting the nutrients he needed to grow so they had to induce labor. It all happened so fast. One minute I'm being dragged into the delivery room, the next the doctor tells me my son is dead." Haley let a stray tear fall. "I was devastated. Everyone was."

"_Call it, time of death.. 2:23 a.m."_

"_NO!" Haley cried out and Nathan held her tight. This was some sort of mistake, some ugly joke. _

"_Doctor, what's going on?" Nathan asked a somber Dr. Anderson came walking over to them. _

"_We tried our best to revive your son, but his lungs." The doctor shook his head as he tried his best to reign in his emotions. Haley only continued to cry harder into Nathan's chest._

"_No.. doc.. he can't.." Haley cried out._

"_Nathan, Haley, I'm so sorry." Dr. Anderson choked out, his own voice cracking. "We did everything we could but.."_

"_No!" NO!" Nathan cried out and started to cry alongside with Haley. Everyone else in the delivery room stood back in silence. Their hearts breaking for the young couple who seemed to have lost it all._

"_This is the part of my job that I hate the most. But it seems his lungs were too fragile. We wont know until we do an autopsy. I'm sorry for your lost. The nurses are cleaning him up now. You should.. you should say your goodbyes." _

_Nathan and Haley just shook their heads as they cried onto each other._

_Dr. Anderson took a step back and headed out of the room. He quickly walked down to the end of the hall and turned into an empty corridor. It was then that he punched the wall and let himself break._

"Did you think the doctors and the nurses did everything they can?"

"Yes." Haley nodded her head. "Over the course of my pregnancy, I got to know Dr. Anderson and his staff really well. I know they tried their hardest to save him."

"But it wasn't enough?"

Haley shook her head. "No. Like I said, the staff were devastated too. Dr. Anderson even had scrapes on his hands because he punched a wall."

"Did you feel like punching a wall?"

"Yes. I was angry and upset. If I didn't have Nathan there, I don't know what I would've done. After Dr. Anderson told us that he was dead. I just lost it and started sobbing into Nathan's arms. Nathan just held me and cried alongside with me." Haley wiped her eyes as she remembered.

"And how was it like when you got to hold your baby for the first time?"

"_Mr. and Mrs. Scott." _

_Nathan and Haley looked up and saw one of the nurses holding the lifeless son in her arms. _

_Reluctantly, Haley opened her arms and held her little boy for the first time. He looked like he was sleeping but there was no rise or fall of his chest. He was small but his cheeks were chubby and had streaks of blond hair but his skin was shades or purple and red. Their hearts broke once more. _

"_He's so small." Haley commented. The official weigh in was 4 pounds 11 ounces. "I'm just meeting him now and now I have to say good bye." Haley looked up to Nathan but words failed him. There in front of him was his son, their son. Nathan was so supposed to protect him and love him and he failed him, failed Haley. _

"_Nathan, what're we going to do?" Haley pleaded to her husband. This wasn't how things were supposed to turn out for them. She needed something, anything. _

"_I don't know Hales." Nathan said softly, his heart breaking at the sight of his wife so torn carrying her lifeless son. "I don't know." _

"I remember thinking how small he was and how lost and helpless I felt." Haley replied. "You have this image how it would be like when your first child is born but nothing could've ever prepared me for what happened. To hold him and know he wasn't coming back to life." Haley choked out.

"Did you feel that maybe this was a mistake, that your son could still be alive?" Julian asked.

"In the back of my mind yes. But at the same time, I had to be realistic. It was a good 5-10 minutes from when the doctor declared him dead and when they gave him to me. I was holding him and he skin looked purple, his was limp and he wasn't breathing." Haley wiped her eyes.

"But then you felt the baby move."

Haley nodded.

_Haley stopped crying and looked up at Nathan. "Did you see that?"_

"_What?" Nathan wiped his teary eyes._

"_He moved." _

"_Hales." Nathan said softly. _

"_No, I'm not imagining this." Haley pleaded. "You have to believe me… wait there it is."_

_Nathan got up in surprise. "Actually I did. His leg moved. You didn't?"_

"_No I didn't do that." _

"_I gotta tell the doctor." Nathan rushed towards the door and started looking around the hallway. _

"_Doctor!" Nathan rushed over to him. "The baby… he.. he moved."_

"_Huh?" Dr. Anderson asked._

"_The baby move. Haley and I both saw it."_

_Without another word, the doctor and Nathan ran back in the room. While Haley was still holding him, the doctor tried to get a pulse or get a heart beat but he couldn't locate either It was then that Haley noticed Dr. Anderson's hands were covered in cuts.._

"_I'm sorry guys but it's just reflex. The body degrades, it can cause a response to the nervous system. It happens quite frequently unfortunately."_

"_But doctor." Haley was about to protest. _

"_Guys look, you might see a leg or hand move. It's not uncommon.. it's just reflex. I know it's hard. But please just.. take all the time you need. I'm .. I'm sorry." A visibly shaken Dr. Anderson shook his head and exited the room. He wanted to punch himself now. He shouldn't have given false hope to his patients like that. _

"_Doctor." Nathan ran out to the doctor._

"_Look Nathan, I'm sorry. I should've known that it was just an automatic reaction."_

"_So there really is no chance he can still be alive."_

_Dr. Anderson shook his head. _

"_God, doc, what am I supposed to do?" Nathan leaned against the doorway._

"_Just be there for your wife. She's going to need you."_

_Nathan nodded and wiped a few stray tears that fell. _

"It was a false hope and I resigned myself to the fact that he was gone." Haley admitted dabbing her eyes with some tissue.

"And what happened next?" Julian asked.

"Acceptance." Haley said softly. "And part of that was admitting to ourselves that he was gone. And we also had to admit it to everyone else. "Our friends and family were there waiting in the hospital." Haley replied. "Nathan was the one to tell them. I know it wasn't easy for him to do."

Just then her phone beeped and she looked down and saw a text message.

"Hey Julian, can we take a break. I have to.."

"Yeah. No problem." Julian hit pause on his camera.

"_So he really is gone?" Haley tore her watery eyes from her deceased son and looked up to Nathan.._

"_I'm afraid so baby." Nathan said softly. He tried his best to explain what the doctor had told him a minute ago. "I wish there was something I can do.. anything to take the pain away but I can't and I'm sorry Hales. I'm so sorry." _

"_I know." Haley leaned against him and cradled her son close to her._

_Nathan cleared his throat and wiped away his own tears. "Look Hales, they told me that everyone is still here waiting. They still don't know what happened."_

"_I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. How are we supposed to tell everyone else?" _

"_I'll do it. I'll get Luke in here. I can't.. I can't face everyone right now." Nathan shook his head._

_Haley nodded as she the tears continued to fall from her eyes. _

"_I'll be right back." Nathan kissed her temple and took one last glimpse of his son. _

_Once he was out, he leaned back against the wall and started panting. He was breathing heavily, trying to hold it together.. A nurse hesitantly came over to him to ask if he was okay and if he needed anything. He shook his head but managed to ask her to bring his brother to him._

_She nodded and gave Nathan a sad smile. By now the whole wing had heard what happened. Most of the time, it was a happy occasion at the maternity ward but there were those rare occasions like tonight where your heart just breaks for the would be parents. _

"Haley should be back soon." Nathan entered the room. They called this the music room but it was anything but. There was a piano in the corner and a stack of baby toys collecting dust next to it. It was left over gifts from the baby shower, toys for one year old and two year old babies that they weren't using. Nathan knew he had to clear this room out eventually but he saw the camera Julian set up across from the couch.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you." Julian asked.

Nathan paused for a second and he closed the door and then took a seat in front of the camera. Julian reached for the camera, turning it on.

"So Haley told you what I was doing right?"

"Yeah, a documentary or something."

"Yeah." Julian nodded his head. "I'm documenting the lives of a few people who's had a major life changing event happen to them and _what comes next _for them. Haley described the last five months as crazy. What do you think?"

"I think that's one words I would use."

"Haley and I were talking about the night .. or early morning rather, when she gave birth. What's changed with you since then?"

"What hasn't changed?" Nathan replied. "There's so many things that are different now."

"Before Haley left, she told me that it was you who told your friends and family about your son's death."

Nathan nodded as imaged of that night came back to him.

_Nathan walked down to the end of the hallway near the doors. He waited there for a minute before the nurse came back with Lucas right behind her._

_Lucas looked tired but carried a big smile and two cigars in his hand. "I know we can't smoke in here but we can at least put it in our mouths to celebrate… dad." Lucas gave a friendly punch to Nathan's shoulder but Nathan's head remained down. Something definitely felt wrong but Lucas wouldn't hear of it. All of them have been through so much, he couldn't take any more bad news._

"_Jake even managed to make it here. We all can't to meet him." Lucas kept his happy demeanor on. _

_Nathan lifted his head and Lucas nearly gasped as he saw the state his brother was in. His eyes were red and puffy, Lucas never saw him so distraught. _

"_He didn't make it Luke." Nathan said softly as a stray tear came falling down. One of many, he was sure. _

_Lucas dropped the cigars from his hands. "No." Lucas took a step back. "No!" He leaned against the opposite wall and felt sucker punched and the wind was knocked out from him. _

"_He was just too much in distress. They think his lungs may have not fully developed. He wasn't breathing when he came out. He didn't even make a sound." Nathan felt himself slumping against the wall._

_Immediately, Lucas came to him and hugged his brother tight and pulled him back on his feet. _

"_He's gone Luke. He's gone." Nathan said softly._

"_Shit Nate. I don't know what to say." Lucas pulled back, tears in his eyes as well. _

"_He was our little man." Nathan choked out. "We were supposed to teach him how to play ball in the River Court."_

_Lucas closed his eyes as the mental image popped up in his head and his heart broke for the life that barely even had a chance to _live_. _

"_Haley's a mess." Nathan sniffled and pulled back. "She's still in the delivery room. They're letting us hold him.. to say our goodbyes. How do I say bye, Luke? How?" Nathan pleaded._

"_You just do, I guess." Lucas shook his head._

"_A part of me was relieved to get out of that room." Nathan admitted. "Can you believe that? What kind of person does that make me?"_

"_Listen to me, Nathan, you are one of the strongest person I know."_

"_I'm not strong enough. Luke. I've been through a lot.. I faced every challenge and opponent head on but this. This is bigger than that.. bigger than any of us. I don't know." Nathan shook his head. "I don't know." Nathan shook his head. _

"_You can get through this little brother. These past few months, I've seen you do amazing things, incredible things. I know you feel helpless now but your grieving and that's okay."_

"_I don't," Nathan voice shook, " I don't even know what to say to Haley. I feel so lost."_

"_Then be lost together." Lucas replied. "Nothing I can say can make things better and I'm not going to stand here and tell you that's it going to get better because you know what, this sucks. This sucks a lot. But it is what it is little bro and if you want to be sad and angry then go ahead. You're good man Nathan Scott. You have a good heart.. literally." He playfully punched Nathan's chest. "Just follow that."_

"I honestly don't know what I would've done if it wasn't for my brother." Nathan looked into the camera.

"He's a big part of your life?" Julian questioned.

"Yeah. I needed someone that night to help me get my bearings straight. To get back on track and be with Haley and be the kind of man and husband she deserved. I owe Lucas a lot… both Haley and I. It's why I named my son after him."

"Did you come up with the name?"

"We both did." Nathan replied. "We couldn't bury him with out at least giving him a name."

"That must've been hard, knowing that it was the name you were going to have to put on a tombstone."

Nathan nodded and sniffled. Even though it was five months ago, Nathan could sometimes feel like it was just yesterday. The memory from the night burned forever in his mind.

"Lucas told me I was this great guy and amazing person. I frankly thought he was full of shit but Lucas had a point. I had to be that guy.. for Haley.. for my son. The hospital staff allowed us to have these precious moments with our son so I knew we had to make the most of them no matter how hard it was going to be."

"And what did you do?"

"Say goodbye and to let our son know that his parents loved him very much."

Julian felt himself being overcome with emotion himself. He had heard of what happened of course from second hand accounts but never directly from Nathan or Haley. Their story was truly heart breaking and inspiring.

_"Hales?" Nathan questioned as he saw his wife on the bed, rocking their lifeless son against her bare chest, the covers pushed up also across her chest._

_"One of the articles I read said that holding the baby skin to skin help him transition from the womb to the real world. In poor countries, mothers do it all the time, especially with premature babies, it acts as an incubator."_

_"__Hales.." Nathan's voice cracked as he approached closer._

"_I know you must think I'm crazy. I know we can't do anything but I just want him to know that I love him, that even though his time here was short that he was loved."_

"_No, I don't think that." Nathan brushed a stray hair behind her ear. He moved around the other side of the bed and hopped in next to Haley._

"_But we should probably start calling him by a proper name." Nathan replied. "You're right Hales, our son deserves to know that he was loved. If this is our first and last moments with him, then I want it matter."_

_Haley looked back to him and mouthed a silent, 'thank you.'_

"_You hear that James Lucas Scott, mommy and daddy love you." Haley recited the name that they both came up with a few weeks ago. _

_Nathan wrapped his arm around Haley's shoulder and brought them close to him. He put his other free hand over Haley's hand, which was over their tiny little boy._

"_You're probably wondering where you got such a cool name." Nathan looked down and talked to his son. "James was your mom's idea. James was her last name and it was in honor of her dad. Now Lucas comes from your Uncle Lucas. People will call us half-brothers but don't listen to them. Your daddy and Uncle Lucas are brothers. And Scott well, that comes from me and is only given to the most handsomest boys." Nathan caressed his small cheeks. _

"_Now I know you're up there with your grandpa now." Haley's voice cracked. "He's going to take good care of you.." Haley could barely finish her sentence._

_Nathan too fought through the pain to talk to his son. "There's a whole bunch of people outside that love you too. There's your Uncle Lucas of course and your Grandma Lydia, Grandma Karen.."_

"_And your Auntie Brooke and Aunt Peyton." Haley added._

"_And even Uncle Jake came." Nathan added. Haley smiled at him._

"_I know they would've all liked to have met you." Haley added. "Especially your Uncle Lucas and your Aunt Brooke, they would've been your godparents."_

_Nathan gave Haley a tight squeeze. _

"_And I know it looks like a mess now but you have the coolest room back home. It has all these cool toys and a crib that your Uncle Lucas and daddy couldn't figure out how to build so we hired someone." Nathan spoke to his son._

_Haley couldn't help but snort. Even in the saddest of moments, Nathan always made her feel better. It was his strength she relied on and his shoulder she could lean on. She was thankful that for the rest of her life, whether it be long or short, she would always have him._

"_I know you're never going to see it but we also have this nice big pool in the backyard that I know you would've loved playing in." Haley added._

"_I even got a basketball hoop for it." Nathan added._

"_You have a lot of basketballs too."_

"_Yeah because 16-17 yrears from now, you were going to lead the Ravens to a state championship." Nathan choked realized all the moments his son would never have but once again he fought through the darkness that threatened to consume him so that he could talk to his son in person instead of a tombstone. "And there's a park by the river with a basketball court that over looks the town. I knew we would've spent hours there just playing basketball.." Nathan's voice trailed as it became thick with emotions._

"_Your daddy would've taught you everything about the game, how to dribble and make a free shot." _

"_Free throw." Nathan laughed while blinking away tears. "I know you would've loved it there buddy." Nathan said softly, looking down at his lifeless son. _

_It was all so much for them to take and they stayed silent for a moment. The silence was broken when they saw their son move and gasp for air._

"_Was.. was that what I thought it was?" Haley asked._

"_Did he just exhale?" Nathan questioned._

"_Is that normal?"_

"_Look, he did it again." Both of them looked at each other perplexed and they waited in silence for another minute but nothing._

_Nathan got up. "Let me ask the doctor."_

_Nathan got up and frantically searched for Dr. Anderson. He found him at the nurses station._

"_Doc! He's breathing, I think."_

"_What do you mean?" He asked._

"_We saw him gasp for air.. twice. Can you check him out?" _

"_Nathan." Dr. Anderson gripped his shoulder. "We talked about this."_

"_But."_

"_The body is probably releasing the excess oxygen we tried pumping into him earlier."_

"_Oh." Nathan took a step back._

"_Maybe we should take him now." Dr. Anderson said softly. This was too much for Nathan and Haley. _

"_No, please." Nathan shook his head. "Can we just .. .we just need time.. to say bye."_

"_Nathan, I understand. Look when you're ready, tell the nurses and then we can talk about what happened but for now just be with your son and these movements he's making, I'm sorry but they're just that.. just natural reactions."._

"_Okay." Nathan nodded and started to head back to the room._

"_He said it was just another reflex." Nathan said as he came back to bed with Haley. She knew it was too good to be true but that didn't mean a part of her wished for a miracle to happen._

"_We can call them to take him away but I'm not ready."_

"_Neither am I." Haley added._

"_There's so much I want to say to this little guy." Nathan added._

"_Me too."_

_"He was supposed to have everything i never had." Nathan said softly. "There was this soap box race I was supposed to enter when I was four but couldn't because of basketball. I know our son would've loved racing in it." Nathan said softly. "He'd have it all." He looked down at his son. " Y__ou're going to be a baller like your dad, but I know you were going to be a genius just like your mommy."_

"_I'm not a genius."_

"_You're mom is just being modest. She's a genius and you are too."_

"_Well I'm still not a genius but you're daddy is right. I know that you would've been one smart kid. We probably would've enrolled you in the Openheimer School for the gifted."_

_Nathan gave Haley a weird look before looking back down. "You're a genius not a geek. You would go to school with a nice school program but one with actual sports."_

_Haley just shook her head. _

"_You would also have a ton of toys to play with. I know you would've been playing NBA live with your daddy and Uncle Lucas, screaming at the tv." Haley smiled at the thought but her heart also broke at the same time._

_"Hales." Nathan said softly, his mouth wide open._

_Haley looked down to see what he was talking about but gasped when she saw her son with his eyes open. She recognized those blue eyes anywhere, there were the same shade as her dad's but just as quickly as he opened them, it was closed. _

_Not wanting to leave Haley's side again, Nathan called the nurses station but once again, Dr. Anderson said it was just a reflex. Still, Nathan and Haley weren't quite sure about it. They continued to talk to their son, talking about the life he would've lived and they got a few more movements from him. Another gasp, movement of the leg and one of his arms. _

_On one hand, they knew what the doctor said and he was right, the baby was only making sporadic movements. They saw their baby exhale, that was few and far apart, but he wasn't actually breathing. But at the same time, they wondered if maybe there was a chance after all. _

_Haley read about skin to skin contact was good for the baby but that was for baby's that were alive. She read stories about pre-mature baby's close to death responding to the natural warmth of the body and the beatings of the heart. Regardless of what was going on, Haley and Nathan knew that something was up and Haley even had Nathan take off his shirt as well. The both of them surrounding their baby with their love._

"_You would beg for a dog, I could already tell but I'd say no because a dog is too much work but I would be willing to give you like a gold fish or something that can be caged." Nathan continued to talk to his son._

_Haley rolled her eyes at her husband and looked down at her baby boy. His movements were getting more pronounced and they both weren't sure what to make of it. It all could be reflexes but at least they would at least get that and know that they looked into their son's eyes. _

"_Fine your daddy has a point but you can get a bunny like the one I used to have when I was a kid. I named him bunny but I know you would come up with something more clever than that like Chester or something."_

"_Chester the bunny." Nathan snorted and looked down and saw that his sons' eyes were open once again._

"_I guess you like that name, huh James?"_

"_Jamie." Haley replied. "Jamie like baby because your mommy's baby.. yes you are." Haley cooed but this time Jamie's eyes were still open and his eyes starting looking around._

"_Hales, wait.. look." Nathan stuck his finger out and Jamie held onto it._

"_Oh my God." Haley gasped. _

"_This is more than just reflexes." Haley added. She noticed that her breasts were leaking, common for new mothers. She dabbed a little milk on her finger and brought it up to his lips. When they saw him suck at it, they both had mouths wide open in shock. Nathan didn't think twice. Nathan raced outside and all the nurses were curious as to why he was standing there half naked. Dr. Anderson appeared and looked just as perplexed._

"_Um.. we're ready Doctor." Nathan spoke, "for you guys to take him away but we have questions." He called Dr. Anderson over the past hour but he was reluctant to come back into the room. He just knew he had to get him in there somehow. _

"_Sure Nathan, but what's going on?" Dr. Anderson took in his appearance._

"_Well see for yourself." Nathan opened the door to their room. _

_Dr. Anderson's mouth fell to the ground and he raced over to the new born baby. It was only two hours ago that he proclaimed the child dead. But now his eyes were wide open and his arms were moving slightly. The doctor took out his stethoscope and heard a heart beat, faint but it was there. _

"_I don't believe it." Dr. Anderson shook his head. "I don't believe it." He kept repeating. _

"_He's alive." _

There was knock on the door and both Julian and Nathan turned to Haley who came walking in with baby in hand.

"Look who fell back asleep." Haley held Jamie close to her, the little boy fast asleep and sucking on his pacifier.

"Nathan as just telling us what happened during the course of those two hours when you were with Jamie and you thought he was dead."

Haley took a seat next to Nathan. Nathan instantly smiled at his sleeping miracle.

"What were your thoughts when he started making all these movements?"

"The doctor said these were reflexes and it made sense because he wasn't breathing nor did I feel him breath on me. We just thought we were lucky to at least see these movements or see his eyes before we had to let him go."

"And what made you decide to bring him skin to skin?"

"Well I read about that in a magazine, called Kangaroo care in Australia, and I just wanted him close to me and to know he was loved."

"We talked to him to say goodbye." Nathan added. "We talk about all the things we had hoped for our son and all the things we thought he would never do. It was our way of coming to terms with his death but he came back to us. We like to say that we enticed him to stay with all the cool things we promised him." Nathan smiled.

"Yeah, I don't know if he'll be the next president of the country but he could certainly try." Haley laughed. "I'm still warming Nathan up to get that bunny for Jamie.. when he's older of course." Haley gave a knowing smile to Nathan.

"I still owe him a soapbox derby race when he's older. Haley thinks its too dangerous."

"He could crash and lose his head or something." Haley pointed out but Nathan just laughed, as did Julian.

"Some have called it a miracle, what do you think?"

Haley and Nathan looked at each other.

"Yes, it is." Nathan replied. "He was gone, like literally gone and he came back to us."

"Thinking about how close we were to losing him, it still brings tears to my eyes. It is an absolute miracle that he is here." Haley added and Nathan nodded in agreement.

"What did the doctors have to say?"

"It's still a topic being discussed today. There is something to the skin to skin contact with the baby." Haley replied. "Some say that it was a combination of the body warmth, hearing and feeling the beating heart, and our voices that the baby responded to."

"I leave it for the doctors to question but I'm just grateful it happened." Nathan added as he wiped some drool off his son's mouth.

Julian smiled at the young family. He loved Haley dearly and letting her go was hard on him. But looking at them now, the love they have for each other and the love for their son, he couldn't help but be happy for them. They gave him hope that true love is out there and attainable for the rest of us fools. Even though Haley wasn't it for him, Julian knew he would find her one day.

"So now, after everything that's happened, what comes next?" Julian asked.

"Thinking about finishing school." Haley replied. "I was only a few credits short of graduation. I'm going to be talking to my old advisor soon and trying to see what I could do."

"And Nathan? There's talk that you'll be back on the court."

"Technically, I'm not retired but I don't know." Nathan looked down at his son and back at the camera.

"I miss the game. I'd be lying if I said I didn't but my family comes first. These last five have been amazing, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Spending time with my son and my wife, that's more happiness than any NBA title could give me."

He looked at Haley and she just smiled warmly, fighting back the tears his sweet words caused.

"Like Haley said, it's still hard to talk about how close we got to loosing Jamie, so whether I play basketball or not, whatever I do next, it will have my family's best interest at heart." Nathan smiled over to Haley and the two shared a quick kiss. Their son instantly woke up and started moving about, wanting to be in on the action. The young couple just laughed and placated their son. Julian smiled and was in awe at the young family before him. Being in the presence of such joy, happiness and love, there was nothing else to do but watch in amazement at the world Nathan and Haley created for themselves, a world of love and happiness, where the problems of the world seemed so far away.

_Clay Evans appeared at the podium inside the hospital's press office. The room were full of photographers and news reporters. Word of the dramatic birth of Nathan Scott's son had spread quickly and the media were all over the story._

_Clay adjusted the microphone and began to speak. "Hello everyone, thank you for being here. I have a statement from Mr. Scott. I will be taking no questions and after I am done, I will turn the microphone over to their physician, Dr. Anderson. He will also take no questions."_

_Clay cleared his throat and pulled out a folder. He looked down._

_"My wife and I would like to extend our gratitude for everyone's support and love during this time. We would like to also thank our friends, family, as well as the staff at the hospital for all their support and love. We thought we had lost our son but a miracle truly happened and we are blessed to have him here with us. The experience has given me time to think and reflect about my life, both personally and professionally. I love my family and they come first. After everything that has happened, I would not have it in me to leave my family to attend camp and play a full season with the Seattle Sonics. I have already informed my coach as well as the management that I will not be playing professional basketball next season. I'd like to thank the Sonics organization for the utmost support and understanding with my decision. Thank you."_

_The camera's flashed and everyone started asking Clay questions but he didn't answer and let Dr. Anderson take the stage._

_Adjusting the microphone first, the Doctor pulled out folded piece of paper and then started to speak. "At approximately 2:12 am yesterday morning James Lucas Scott was born almost four weeks premature and weighing in at 4 pounds 11 ounces. The baby appeared non responsive and was not breathing. Efforts to revive him failed and at 2:23 am, he was declared clinically dead. For the next two hours, the baby was held by his mother and subsequently by his father using a technique called "Kangaroo Care," in which the baby was placed skin to skin with the parent. What was believed to be reflexes by the infant turned out to be intentional movements. By approximately 4:23 am, the baby was awake and alert. The baby was fed and changed and is currently doing well. Both mother and child are expected to be fine. The reason why baby Jamie was brought back to life is still being investigated and doctor's all over the world are sifting through the data." Dr. Anderson put the paper down and took a deep breath before facing the crowd again._

_"__A lot of people will say different things about what happened. Some call it a miracle, other have already called it negligence on the hospital's part but I was personally there. I tried to resuscitate baby Jamie and failed. I even came back twenty minutes after Jamie first made movements and still, I couldn't find a pulse, a heart beat, anything. Whatever God you believe in, know that a _miracle_ did happen. I've known Haley and Nathan for a couple of months now and they are the most dedicated, loving parents I've ever met." Dr. Anderson's voice cracked a little. "Their love brought their son back from the dead. Haley followed her instincts when she held her baby… and it just goes to show." Dr. Anderson paused before continuing._

"_A mother's love trumps all the measurable science."_

To Be Continued . . . . .

Like I said before, I based this on real life stuff. Last chapter was based off my niece who had to be induced early. This chapter was based on a real life story you can read on the web. Please google "Kate Ogg MSNBC" to read and watch a video of a real life couple who actually thought that their son died but using "Kangaroo care" helped bring him to life. When I watched this several months ago, I was floored and was near tears after watching the video. The fact that the baby was also named Jamie, I knew I had to use it in this story and it actually fit perfectly with what I had planned, which was why I mentioned it a couple of chapters back when Haley was reading baby magazines. My own niece also had kangaroo time as well. I hope you all enjoyed and please review!


	32. Weeks Go By Like Days

The Search For Something More

Chapter 32 – Weeks Go By Like Days

Thank you all for the reviews last chapter. Like I said, it was one of the most difficult yet rewarding chapters I ever written. If you guys cried or were close to crying then I did my job, lol cuz that's what I wanted from that chapter, to go through all the range of emotions that Nathan and Haley were going through. I couldn't think of a more perfect way to introduce JLS. Writing the last chapter took a lot out of me, it sort of left me drained to write and plus Holiday stuff, work stuff and it was also my birthday, things were just so busy. I'm trying to get into the swing of writing again. Now last chapter took place 5 months after Jamie was born, this chapter will fill in the gaps of what happened in between and more. I wasn't planning on updating today but I figure this is my Christmas gift to everyone. Since it is Christmas too, I added a little something in here for the holiday season. I also recently updated Keep Bleeding. With this story wrapping up, I am going to devote all my attention to KB.

I hope you enjoy and please review! Merry Christmas !

* * *

James Lucas Scott – 3 weeks old

"Is the camera on?" Nathan asked outside his car.

"Yes." Lucas called out from the front door to Nathan's house.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"I don't see the red light on."

"Because there isn't one."

"Damnit, I thought I told you to get a good camera."

"The camera's fine! Now would you get my nephew out of the car already!" Lucas called out.

Nathan turned around and opened the back passenger door. He took Haley's hand as she stepped outside.

"You got him?" Haley asked.

"Yeah I got him." Nathan replied as he removed the car seat from it's base.

"Ready?" Nathan asked as he lifted his baby boy out of the car. It's been three weeks since Jamie was born and he was now healthy enough to go home on his own now.

"Welcome home buddy." Nathan looked down as his sleeping son. Lucas was right next to him documenting the whole thing.

Stepping inside, Nathan lifted the car seat up high so his boy could see his surroundings, although his baby boy was still asleep.

Haley closed the door behind them and Nathan set the car seat on top of a nearby chair. As gently as he could, he started unbuckling the straps. Luckily for him, the time in the hospital helped him train for these sort of things. It was complicated at first but Nathan eventually got the hang out of it. Jamie grew and gained over 2 pounds since he was born but he was still tiny.

"Careful." Haley urged as Nathan took him from the car seat and lifted him in his arms. The motion finally woke their son. Jamie's blue eyes opened and his big eyes looked around, not used to his new surrounding.

"Hey baby, welcome home." Haley cooed. "I know this must look very confusing." Just then their son started crying and Nathan started rocking him back and forth.

"I think he needs to get changed." Nathan answered.

"Careful going up the stairs."

Nathan laughed, "Yes Hales." After three weeks, Nathan had gotten used to Haley's over protectiveness, shoot he felt the same way. Outside of the new parents and the nursing staff, no one got to really hold Jamie yet say for only a few minutes here and there.

Lucas ran up the stairs, making sure to capture every moment. Then he walked backwards into the nursery, making sure to record Jamie's first time entering his room. Settling him down on the changing table, Haley soon took over. Nathan didn't mind though. He only changed Jamie handful of times but he was always afraid that he'd break a limb or something. Jamie was still so small and fragile. The last thing Nathan wanted was to ever hurt his son.

Haley was preoccupied changing her son that she didn't take the time to notice all the changes to the room. She hadn't been back here since she had to give birth and Lucas and Nathan did a great job of getting it ready.

"Good job guys." Haley picked her son up and started rocking him band and forth and took in her surroundings. The place was bare before but now the crib had linens. The dresser was filled with clothes. There were a bunch of toys in the corner and the changing table was filled with diapers, wipes and everything else they needed.

"I mostly did everything." Lucas piped in.

"Don't listen to him." Nathan admonished and wrapped his arm around Haley. "Shouldn't you be filming?"

Haley giggled and noticed her son yawn. Jamie was content and happy to finally be changed. "Someone's tired." Haley commented as she walked towards the crib. Setting him down gently, little Jamie stirred for a moment, not liking the fact that someone wasn't holding him anymore. But he became comfortable in his new crib and fell fast asleep.

Lucas looked on from the other side of the room and recorded every minute. Even a blind man could see how happy Nathan and Haley were. His heart swelled at the sight before him, at the young couple so in love and in wonder of their new baby boy. Lucas still couldn't believe Jamie was alive. It was he who had to break the news to everyone and it was he, who choked on his words to tell his friends and family that Jamie didn't make it.

When he found out that he was alive, Lucas jumped for joy, as did everyone else. When the name was announced, Lucas found himself once again in tears but for a different kind. He was speechless and incredibly touched to know that Nathan and Haley named their son after him. Every time Lucas looked down on Jamie, he was filled with pride and Lucas hoped to be as good of an Uncle to Jamie as his own Uncle Keith was to him.

Turning his attention back to the young parents, Lucas suddenly felt like the outside looking in. While Lucas knew he was always welcomed at the Scott house and being best friends to Haley and now to Nathan. It amazed him how much Nathan relied on Lucas but it went both ways as well. Nathan and Haley were his best friends and he was touched and honored to be part of their small family. But Lucas knew it was time for him to go. This was a moment for the two of them to share together and privately and Lucas was happy to give it to them. Setting the small camcorder down. He walked over to Nathan and Haley. He glanced down and smiled at his sleeping nephew, "He gets cuter every day."

"It's cuz he gets his looks from me." Nathan added with a smirk.

"Funny cuz Jamie has blond hair, like his Uncle Lucas." Lucas smirked right back.

"Will you two ever stop?" Haley asked.

Nathan and Lucas looked at each other for a second then turned to Haley and shrugged. Haley could only laugh it off.

"Hey guys, I'm going to get going." Lucas announced.

"Already?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, besides you two are going to have a lot to do with this little one."

"Thanks Luke for all your help." Haley went to hug her best friend.

Lucas pulled back and turned to Nathan.

"Bye, dad."

"Say it again." Nathan smiled.

"What? Dad?"

"Yeah." Nathan nodded. "Sounds pretty good right."

"It's perfect little bro." The two pulled into a typical man hug.

Lucas turned on his heel to leave and stopped at the door way and took one last glance. Nathan had an arm wrapped around Haley's waist and the two were still ogling over their sleeping son. Lucas smiled, the widest smile he had since the last time he last saw the three of them together.

A week later. . . .

Still half asleep, Nathan turned to wrap his arms around Haley. When he felt nothing but cold sheets, his eyes went wide open and he sat up. He glanced at the clock and noticed it was 2:30 in the morning.

"Hales?" He called out softly as he rolled out of bed.

Two days after Jamie was brought home, Haley and Nathan gave in and just brought the crib over to their bed room, as well as their rocker. It was too much going back and forth between the baby's room and their room, especially when Jamie cried at night.

"Hey go back to sleep." Haley said softly as she put her now sleeping son back in his crib.

"I thought we agreed that tonight would be my shift." Nathan came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Haley instantly relaxed against his body.

"It's okay, I was already up."

"You know, it's okay to rest every once in a while." Nathan kissed her temple.

"Nathan, I'm fine."

"Hales, you barely got any sleep since Jamie was brought home. You need your rest."

"I can't sleep." Haley replied.

"Are you afraid something will happen if you do?" Nathan already knew the answer. He was careful in trying to bring it up because quite frankly, he was worried all the time too.

"Before my biggest fear was waking up and you wouldn't be here and now…"

"Now what?"

"Now I'm afraid, I'll wake up and find both of you gone."

"Hales, we aren't going any where .. Jamie can't even walk yet." Nathan tried to joke.

"I know I'm being silly but .. I can't help it. Before I couldn't wait to leave the hospital. Now it's just us, no nurses or doctors to help us out. What if something happens and we aren't around?"

"Hales, that's why we put the crib in our room." Nathan reminded her. "And Jamie is doing fine. You are doing a great job. Jamie and I are lucky to have you but you need your rest too babe."

Haley nodded, knowing Nathan was right.

"You were there when Jamie needed you the most.. when you held him and brought him back to us. He's here to stay Hales."

"You're wrong."

"Hales.."

"No, I meant when you said that I brought him back to life. _We_ brought him back Nathan. You, me and the love we have for each other and for our son brought him back. When I married you and said that you make me brave, I never realized how true those words would be. You gave me the strength to get through those awful moments when we thought we lost Jamie."

Nathan kissed her and then shook his head. "Funny cuz I'm scared.. I'm scared all the time but when I look at you and Jamie, I just get this feeling that we're going to be okay."

"You're a wonderful husband Nathan Scott and an incredible father, you know that?"

"No, I don't but hearing you say it helps." He laughed. "Now come on, let's get you to bed."

* * *

James Lucas Scott – 2 months old

Haley stepped inside the house and dropped her bag and keys by the front steps. It was good to get out of the house and run some errands. It took some time but Haley was finally able to spend a few hours without her baby boy and not feel like the world was ending. She was about to call out Nathan's name when she spotted father and son on the couch, each of them half naked.

Haley smiled at the sight. Jamie was only in his diaper, lying flush against Nathan's bare chest. Nathan was still in his boxers from his boxers and his hair was just as disheveled as when she left him this morning.

"Busy morning huh?" Haley called out.

Nathan turned down the television and looked up at Haley.

"James and I are just doing some male bonding."

"Uh hu." Haley kneeled by the couch and gave both and son and husband a quick kiss. "You know we don't have to do kangaroo time anymore."

"I know but Jamie was fussy and he kept spitting up his milk every time I changed his outfit." Nathan held his son up so now he was sitting on his chest. "Besides, Jamie loves being with his dad."

Haley couldn't disagree. Jamie loved being in his dad's arms and it was Nathan who was usually able to put their baby boy to sleep. Haley knew first hand the warmth and security it felt to be wrapped around Nathan's strong arms. It seems her son knew this as well. Upon seeing his mama, Jamie instantly smiled and Haley reached out to grab him.

"Come on baby, let's find you a cute outfit to wear."

"I should probably get dressed too." Nathan stood up as well.

Haley eyed him up and down. Even though he wasn't playing basketball, Nathan still remained fit. He wasn't officially retired and he still played ball with Lucas when he could and exercised regularly. She wondered how he did it considering she was still trying to shed the her pregnancy pounds and it seemed half the time Nathan was sitting down on his lazy yet sexy, round, plush but.

"Actually, you look just fine." Haley winked at him and grinned before ascending the stairs with their son.

James Lucas Scott – 4 months old

Haley descended the stairs towards their finished basement slash home gym.

"49.. 50." Nathan grunted, his back against the bench press as he finished the last of his reps. Nathan took off his shirt and wiped the sweat from his brow with it.

"He's finally asleep." Haley held up the baby monitor in her hand and placed it on a nearby table, putting the volume on high in case Jamie started crying again. "Now, where were we?"

"You're up." Nathan pointed to the work bench.

"Nathan, I can't bench press all those weights."

"Of course not you goof, now come over here while I change the weights." Nathan started removing weights from the bar, surely Haley could bench press a couple of pounds. She already gets a work out from carry Jamie who was now a healthy and happy 14 pound baby.

"It's too heavy." Haley complained a minute later.

Nathan removed more weights.

"More." Haley urged.

"Babe, pretty soon, you're just going to be lifting the bar."

"Well the bar is pretty heavy."

Nathan sighed. He wondered why he agreed to help Haley with her exercise. He looked down at her and saw the cleavage from her tight sports shirt and her creamy legs that were on display thanks to her short shorts and he was reminded why.

"Come here to the mat, we'll do some sit ups."

Haley lied down and Nathan held her feet straight.

"Now you know the drill." Nathan ordered.

Haley nodded and took a deep breath. She placed her hands behind her head and started to lift herself up. Once she brought her face forward, Nathan's lips were right there waiting to kiss her for every sit up she accomplished.

"I like this work out." Haley commented.

"Me too." Nathan replied as he gave her another kiss.

"24…. (kiss) …. 25." Nathan kissed her one more time.

"Finally." Haley huffed as she lied down to catch her breath.

"Good job babe." Nathan gently rubbed the side of Haley's leg. The sight of Haley looking so flushed and the feel of her warm skin made Nathan lick his lips.

Pretty soon, his hand started roaming further.

"Hey, watch it, we're supposed to be working out." Haley warned, knowing where Nathan's mind was already heading.

"We are working out." Nathan smirked as he now placed both his hands on her thighs and spread her legs apart.

"Natha." Haley was about to admonish when she felt his hand brush up against crotch. The feel of his strong hands sent shivers down her body and pretty soon, she felt him slip a finger in her shorts.

Nathan licked his lips some more as he felt just how wet she was.

"Damn baby." Nathan said in wonder as his fingers started working their magic.

"Nathan.." Haley's breathing got heavy.

Nathan couldn't take it anymore and he yanked her shorts down and tossed it aside. He licked his lips and spread her legs wide. Without wasting another second, he leaned forward and started lapping up her juices.

"Nathan!" Haley moaned as she had her eyes closes and her mouth clenched. Nathan's magical hands never ceased to turn her on but her skillful tongue diving deep in her was driving her absolutely crazy. She was glad they were all the way downstairs and Jamie was sleeping in his crib upstairs so he wouldn't hear her cries. Nathan had a way of always making her vocal.

"Nathan!" She cried one final time as waves of pleasure coursed through her body. Nathan sat up and licked his lips, admiring the work he just performed. He was rock hard now and his length protruded prominently from his gym shorts. Nathan wasted no time in kicking off his shoes and pulling down his shorts and boxers in one swift motion.

Haley licked her lips at the sight of her sexy as hell husband. Their first few weeks of marriage found it difficult for them to be intimate with each other but once things settled down, they were able to fully enjoy the joys of married life.

Nathan lifted Haley's shirt and instantly kneaded her breasts. She grew at least a cup size since giving birth and Nathan loved all the new curves Haley had now developed. While Haley complained that she was still fat, Nathan thought the opposite. She had lost most of pregnancy pounds and thanks to Brooke's advice of applying lotion, Haley didn't have any visible stretch marks. She looked sexy as hell and she was all his.

Nathan started kissing a trail up from her belly button up towards her chest. He admired each breast with his tongue and sucked at each nipple. Haley squirmed underneath him, wanting more and needing more. Nathan's lips finally reached her mouth and Haley pulled him close to him. Nathan positioned himself at her entrance and without parting her lips, he entered her in one deep thrust.

"AHHH!" She tore his lips from him, the feeling of being connected as one, always overwhelming but incredibly pleasurable. Nathan wanted nothing more than to pound himself into her, as deep and as fast as he could but Jamie was asleep and these were the few times where they coukd take their time and enjoy the moment.

Haley didn't share Nathan's feelings as she pushed her hips towards him, wanting him to increase his pace. Nathan didn't give in though as he gave long, deep thrusts.

"I love you so much." Nathan muttered against her lips.

"Nathan.. please." She begged as her finger nails bore into his back.

Nathan let out a small growl and pretty soon, he was picking up the pace. Their bodies rocked in unison until it was all too much for Haley and she gave herself completely over to Nathan and let him have his way with her. He held a tight grip on her waist and moved in faster, quickly sending Haley over the edge.

"NATHAN!" She screamed his name and the feel of her muscles clenching around him finally had him going too.

"AHH!" Nathan grunted out as he shot everything he had in her.

Nathan collapsed on top of her but was careful to prop himself up on his elbows as to not completely crush her under his weight. Sweat poured from their bodies and they each took a minute to regain their breathes and their bearings.

"Is that what you call a work out?" Haley teased as she ran her hand through Nathan's slick hair.

"It is in my book. Besides, you know how much calories sex burns off." Nathan wiggled his eyebrows.

Haley laughed and kissed her husband. A moment later, she pushed him off her. "Go, you need a shower." She ordered.

"Only if you join me." Nathan held his hand out for her to take.

She took a look at the baby monitor and noticed that Jamie was still asleep.

"Let's go."

* * *

James Lucas Scott – 6 months old

Haley leaned back closer against Nathan and he just held her tighter. It was a little past 1 am Christmas Eve, now Christmas morning. They were both on the floor, with Nathan propped against the couch and the two just lied their amused at their baby boy who was currently enjoying the wrapping paper of the gifts he just received. Normally, they would be trying their best to put Jamie to sleep but tonight was a special night, the first night they spent Christmas together.

Haley had bought a ton of baby out fits for Jamie to wear and even Nathan had to admit that some of the outfits were just too cute for words. He imagined he grown a little soft over the past six months but one look at Jamie and he wondered how any one's hearts can remain cold. Even some of his former teammates who made the trip to Tree Hill to visit him were instantly taken by the young Scott.

"What're you thinking about?" Haley asked softly. Her husband had been awfully quiet as of late.

"You know how there are a handful of moments in your life that you know while it's happening you're going to remember for the rest of your life."

Haley tilted her head to look at him at him.

"I'm having one of those moments tonight. Right here with you and Jamie, by this fire and this tree and Jamie looking so happy just playing with the ribbons and wrapping paper instead of his actual gifts. I don't think I could feel any more happier than I am and then we have moments like these and I'm speechless."

"Just wait, you haven't even opened up my Christmas gift." Haley kissed his cheeks.

"While I'm sure I'll love it, I don't know if anything can top the gift that you gave me." Nathan nodded over to their son.

"This all feels so surreal." Haley smiled at Jamie was crawling on the floor and throwing the paper and ribbons around. "Last year, I was scared and pregnant. I didn't think I would end up here with you and our son and being a family. I'm happy you never gave up on us, no matter how hard I tried to push you away.

Nathan kissed the top of her forehead. "Can't say I didn't deserve it. I'm sorry for all the ways I hurt you."

"No more apologies." Haley squeezed his hands. "All the bad memories and the pain, it still brought us here.. to this place, to this night and to the most perfect Christmas I could've ever imagined."

Nathan smiled. "Merry Christmas." Nathan said softly.

"Merry Christmas." Haley replied back and the two shared a tender kiss.

Sensing his parents attention wasn't on him anymore, Jamie put the torn gift wrapping paper back down and crawled his way over to his parents. Nathan and Haley tore their lips from each other.

"Hey buddy." Haley lifted her son up.

"You enjoying your gifts." Nathan caressed his short blond hair.

Jamie just laughed and smiled and drool trickled down from the side of his mouth. Haley was right, Nathan thought. This was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

. . . . .

Nathan eyed the mistletoe in his hands and thought about all the clever placed he hung it around the house. He knew he didn't need an excuse to kiss his wife but the mistletoe did bring a holiday flare to it. It was still Christmas and he wondered where else he should put it, like above their bed or around his belt. Nathan smirked at the thought of having it placed there and his mind drifted off to a few days ago when Haley was helping him work out. It was he who was doing sit ups with Haley helping him keep his feet steady. Pretty soon it turned into her head between his legs and bobbing up and …. Nathan shook his head and put the mistletoe back down. There were people over his house and his pants were getting way to tight for his liking.

He needed something to deflate his hard on and looking into the living room and seeing Peyton and Brooke trying to dress his son in ribbons and bows did just that. Everyone was over their house this year for Christmas.

"What're you guys doing?" Nathan lifted his son up and removed the offensive decorations.

"We're just playing dress up." Brooke rolled his eyes.

"He's not a doll." Nathan replied. "Come on Jimmy Jam, I think someone needs to get changed." Nathan padded Jamie's diaper, sensing that it was wet.

"Boo, you're no fun." Peyton pouted but Nathan ignored her and made his way to Jamie's room to change him.

"Bring Lucas here, I'm sure we can dress him up." Peyton called over to Brooke.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind unwrapping that." Brooke eyed Lucas from across the room.

"Brooke!" Peyton laughed.

"Sorry but Lucas is looking really hot tonight." Brooke took her mind out of the gutter.

"Then why don't you do something about that." Peyton suggested.

"Maybe I will." Brooke agreed and got up and made her way over to Lucas.

"Hey Brooke." Lucas smiled.

"Hey Broody, would you look at that mistletoe." Brooke pointed up and before Lucas could look up, Brooke had already grabbed a hold of Lucas' face and brought his lips to hers.

"Merry Christmas." Brooke winked. Lucas looked up and saw no mistletoe and just smirked wider.

. . . . . .

"Brooke, these outfits are so cute." Haley held them up against Jamie.

"No problem. Some of these are from my new lines, Baby Brooke." Brooke smiled.

"Baby Brooke, that's scary." Nathan commented and Haley elbowed him.

"Next up, Lucas." Nathan announced and opened the small box for Jamie.

"Oh Luke, these are wonderful!" Haley smiled. They were some original early editions of classic kids books like Charlie Brown and Dr. Seuss.

"Books really?" Nathan replied bluntly.

"Dude, these are classics."

"Dude, I can get them on my iPad." Nathan replied back.

"Nathan, stop. It's the thought that counts." Haley admonished.

"Yeah, Luke, next time think harder." Nathan smirked and his smirk was quickly wiped away when Haley smacked him behind the head.

"These are all great gifts. Thank you so much everyone." Haley announced and then handed her son over to Nathan. "Play nice."

"As long as you're naughty later." Nathan winked.

"Count on in." Haley winked back and headed towards the kitchen. It was time for her and her mom to prepare their Lydia's famous chicken dupling soup. The dish was mostly prepared, they just needed to put everything together and heat it up. It tasted much better fresh.

"Was that really necessary?" Lucas said in disgust as he took Jamie from Nathan's arms.

"Your gifts were fine Luke and in 3-4 years when Jamie can read, I'm sure he'll find it as boring as I do."

"Idiot." Lucas rolled his eyes. "But I wasn't talking about the books."

"Luke, Haley and I have sex. How do you think we got Jamie?"

"I try to think it was divine intervention." Lucas shook his head. "Anyways, did Haley like the concert tickets you got her?"

"Yeah, although I think I might have to bring ear plugs if I have to sit through a Chris Keller concert." Nathan shook his head. He still didn't know what the big deal with that guy was. Either way, thanks to Alex, he was able to get box seats.

"What did Haley get you? She never told me."

"It was a box with a pair of red heals and a santa hat inside." Nathan replied.

Lucas looked at him confused.

"That's what I said until we went to bed and I found Haley lying in bed wearing that .. and only that." Nathan smirked.

"Oh that's just gross."

"It's called sex Luke, you should try it sometimes. It looks like you need it. Try Brooke, she looks like she might give it up. Give Jamie a cousin to play with instead of a book." Nathan laughed while Lucas continued to glare at him and reached out to punch him.

. . . . .

"Julian, thank you so much for the gifts." Haley held the phone close to her ear. "Is it still raining in LA?….. I know the weather has been crazy but it's only just been cold here in Tree Hill, they say there might be some snow showers tonight… And so when can we see the finished version of the documentary?… Cool let us know .. Okay I have to go. Merry Christmas again. Ok, thanks. Bye." Haley put her phone away.

"How is Julian?" Lydia asked.

"He's good. He's still busy on that documentary I was telling you about. The one he filmed last month when he was in town."

"I heard. Is he almost done?"

"Almost, he says he still has a few more people to interview."

"I'm sure it'll turn out great. So many people have asked me about your story, it's great that you're going to share it with the world."

"I just hope I don't look fat on camera."

"Honey please, with the way you're looking, I'm surprised Nathan hasn't dragged you upstairs.. again." Lydia quipped.

"Mom!" Haley admonished as she went back to preparing the soup.

Lydia just laughed as she picked up an over sized spoon. "Now this has always been a two person recipe." Lydia announced as she slowly stirred the batter.

"I miss your soup mom." Haley smiled as she continued to put some of the ingredients into the big pot.

"Your dad also loved the soup but lord I couldn't get that man into the kitchen to help me."

"I remember." Haley smiled. "I'm so glad you were able to spend Christmas with us mom."

"I just wish the rest of your siblings were here."

"I know stupid snow storm." Haley sighed. "Julian just told me how it's been non-stop rain in LA and snow everywhere else. Oh well, everyone should be here by tomorrow night. Even Deb's flight got delayed too."

"How is Deb?" Lydia asked.

"She's good. Her rehab is doing well, she hasn't lapsed in months and she absolutely adores Jamie. Having Nathan and Jamie back in her life has helped her out a lot."

"Have them in your life has helped too."

"I couldn't imagine my life with out them." Haley smiled.

"I'm so happy for you dear."

"Thank you mom and for the first time in a long time, I'm happy for me too."

Lydia sniffled and her hand shook as she stirred the batter.

"Mom?" Haley asked concerned.

"You know the trick is to stir the batter slowly." Lydia tried to regain her composure.

"Mom, your hands are shaking. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine dear. Just getting a little emotional that's all."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Mom, you're not fooling anyone, especially me."

Lydia opened her mouth to speak but words failed her.

"It's back isn't it?" Haley asked softly.

Lydia nodded. "My cancer has returned."

To Be Continued . . . .

ps, I hate to say but most likely next chapter will be the last. There might be two more chapters left but I basically wrote everything I wanted to already. I had a blast writing this and I hope you enjoyed. Merry Christmas again and please review !


	33. Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left

The Search For Something More

Chapter 33 - Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them

Thank you to those who reviewed. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Enjoy and please review!

. . . . .

Nathan felt a chill in the room and rubbed his tired eyes. Turning to his side he noticed Haley was gone and the door leading to their private balcony overlooking the pool was ajar. He reached over to his nightstand and quickly checked the baby monitor and saw his son asleep. As Jamie got older and slept longer through the night, he and Haley were comfortable leaving him in his own room instead of sleeping with them in the master.

Normally, Haley would be freezing but she didn't mind the cold air hitting her face. She finally felt like she could breath. She was lost in her own thoughts that she didn't hear the door fully open but she did feel Nathan as he came up from behind her and wrapped both of them up in a warm blanket.

"What're you doing here?" Nathan asked quietly, pressing his lips on top of her head.

"Just needed some air. Sorry if I woke you up."

"You know, I can't sleep with out you." Nathan turned her around so now she was facing him. "What's going on? You've been quiet all night."

"…." Haley looked down.

"Hales?" Nathan prodded. The start of the day started out great. Haley was so excited for everyone to be in the house for Christmas but something must've happened because her mood changed. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but he knew something was up. He didn't want to pressure her and knew that if there was something she needed to tell him, she would do so on her own time. But finding her here outside in the middle of the night started to get him worried.

Haley opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it.

"Come on, let's go inside." Nathan motioned for them to come back inside. Haley let Nathan silently lead her back into their bedroom. The forecast for tomorrow called for a change in wind direction and warmer weather but the night chill still had it's grasp on Tree Hill. As soon as Nathan closed the door, she instantly leapt into his arms and he gladly accepted her. He felt her tears against his bear chest and he just held her tighter, the blanket falling to the ground and Nathan warming her up with his arms.

"Hales, what's wrong?" He asked.

Haley sniffled and looked up at Nathan. He gently ran his thumb over her face to wipe her tears away. She wanted to speak, she wanted to tell him but she couldn't. It was so easy to get lost in her sorrows but being with Nathan always comforted her, even now.

"Hales?" He asked again but was cut off by her lips on his.

"Hales?" He repeated against her lips but she kissed him harder and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her.

"Nathan, please." She said softly, almost pleading with him and her hands trailed down his back and onto his sides before pulling at the hem of his PJ bottoms. Her kisses and her hands instantly sent his body ablaze and as much as he wanted her to tell him what's wrong, he knew she wasn't ready to talk just yet. Besides, distracting each other with sex was something he couldn't pass up at the moment, especially since she just slipped her hand inside his boxers.

Nathan kissed back harder and led them back towards the bed. Haley felt the mattress hit the back of her knees and she instantly fell back. Nathan quickly dropped his PJ pants and boxers in one swift motion and instantly pounced on Haley. In between kisses, he lifted her top off and pretty soon, the rest of her clothes were discarded as well. The need to be connected as one was urgent and Haley opened her legs wide and held onto Nathan. Nathan took a hold of her hips and wasted no time in entering her in one quick thrust.

She moaned into his mouth and he kissed her back, his lips muffling their cries of pleasures. Nathan quickly picked up the pace, not wasting a moment as Haley grinded her hips furiously against his. She needed to feel something, anything and the pleasure Nathan was giving her was what she needed to escape the sadness that threatened to consume her.

"Nathan!" She cried his name as she became undone. Nathan soon followed, spilling everything he had in her. They laid their for a second, sweat now covering their bodies. Nathan pulled the covers over them and slid off to his side of the bed, pulling Haley close to him. She hugged him tight and rested her face against the crook of his neck.

"I should've seen it." Haley said softly after a few moments of silence. "The signs were there but I ignored it."

"Hales?"

"She was losing weight. She was more tired than usual."

"Haley, who are you talking about?"

"My mom." Haley choked out and looked up at Nathan. "Her .. her cancer's back." Haley buried her head back and started to cry.

"Oh Hales, I'm so sorry." Nathan held her tight, his heart breaking for his wife. He knew how close mother and daughter were, especially after Jimmy died.

"I don't know what to do."

"I know baby. Just let it out." Nathan rubbed her back.

She cried harder and Nathan held her as tightly as he could. He was never letting go of her. Ever.

The Next Day

Lydia passed a cup of tea towards Haley. Then she took a seat across from Haley and took a sip from her own cup.

"I'm sorry about yesterday." Haley spoke up. "I didn't mean to freak out."

"You didn't freak out. Actually you didn't say much of anything."

"I'm sorry, I was shocked. I still am."

"I know honey. It wasn't my intention to ruin your Christmas."

"My Christmas wasn't ruined mom. I got to spend it with you, and family, friends, Jamie and Nathan. It was one of the best Christmas's I ever had." Haley assured her.

"Well seeing that hickey you were trying to hide, I'm sure Nathan gave you a Christmas to remember." Lydia teased.

Haley blushed. "Mom, can you be serious for like one minute of my life."

Lydia laughed. "Sorry dear, I couldn't resist. For all you know, I might be a grandmother again." Lydia winked.

Haley smiled at the thought of having another child with Nathan but then she started thinking of Jamie's birth and the fact that someone might not be around anymore to see it happen. Lydia shifted uncomfortably in her seat and knew where her daughter's mind drifted to.

"How bad is it mom?"

"It doesn't look good." Lydia admitted.

"I thought the treatment worked. I thought you were in remission."

"It did work Haley-bob. The doctors never expected me to last this long but here I am. The treatment only worked for as long as it could."

"How long do you have mom?"

"A couple of weeks, a few months maybe." Lydia sighed. "I looked into everything. The cancer has spread. Doing chemo and radiation might buy me a few more months but I don't know."

"Oh mom."

"I'm sorry Haley but I don't know if I can go through treatment again. It was so much the last time, I don't .." Lydia chocked out.

"Oh Mom." Haley went over and hugged her mom tight.

"I don't know if I can go through it again Haley. Please don't ask me to do go through it." Lydia pleaded.

"Oh mom, I'm sorry. I'm sorry you felt like you had to hide this from me. I didn't mean to pressure you. Whatever you decide to do, I'm here mom." Haley hugged her mom tight.

"What I want is to live." Lydia replied. "With the precious moments I have left, I just want to live."

Haley nodded. "Mom, I'm sorry. Here I am being so selfish about how this would affect me. I know I pressured you the last time to get the treatment. I'm sorry for making you go through that."

"Oh Haley-bop. I may have not wanted to go through with it but I'm so happy I did. It bought me extra time that I didn't think I would have. It allowed me to spend time with my friends and family.. and most of all, I got to spend it with you and my grandson."

Haley nodded.

"I'm just sad, mom. I really wish Jamie would get to know you."

"But he will. Because when I look at you, I see me, I see your father. I'm never leaving you Haley-bop."

"I know." Haley sniffled. "I know."

"Oh my sweet baby. You were my youngest. I was so worried for you."

"Me? Mom, I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about."

"I'm fine Haley-bob. Part of the reason why I agreed to take the treatment last year was because I was so worried about you. When you broke up with Nathan and your father passed away, you seemed.. lost but now. I know you're going to be okay. All my children are grown up, happy and healthy, I couldn't.. I couldn't ask for anything more."

"And I am happy mom. I just want you to be happy as well."

"I am Haley-bop. I lived a great life and I know that my children.. all my children and grandchildren will be okay." Lydia pressed her forehead against Haley and the two shared an Eskimo-style kiss.

. . . . . .

The weather reports were right. Nathan couldn't believe how high the temperature rose once the sun started to shine. Warm air from the south was funneling through and Nathan didn't want to miss the opportunity to spend some time out doors during this balmy winter's day. Father and son were spending the day together as Haley was with her mom. He dropped Haley off earlier to Lydia's house and hoped for the best. But with news of Lydia's cancer returning, Nathan wasn't exactly sure what to do. He'd held Haley last night while she cried herself to sleep. Nathan didn't know what to expect later on but for now, he was going to make the best of the day with Jamie. With the warmer weather, Nathan went straight for the River Court. With the heat last summer and Jamie just being born, they didn't take Jamie out except for the occasional times in their backyard. This was Jamie's first time here and Nathan looked at his watch and wondered where the hell his brother was. Lucas was suppose to take pictures but like always, he was running late.

Nathan removed Jamie from his stroller, he was currently enamored by a small squishy baseball toy he received from Julian as a Christmas gift. Nathan frowned, a baseball had no place in the River Court but Jamie wouldn't stop playing with the damn thing. Jamie had a little orange basketball too but it still a little too big for Jamie to fully grasp. Of course Julian would give his son a baseball. He was lucky Jamie liked it, Nathan thought. At this point, Nathan personally had nothing against Julian, they hung out a few times, mostly in the presence of Haley, Lucas and their other friends but he wouldn't hang out with him one on one. They'd had casual conversations here and there and Nathan was able to open up to him about his experience during Jamie's birth. He wasn't jealous of Julian, at least not anymore but there was a time when Haley was his and Nathan was never the one for sharing.

Nathan looked down at Jamie and removed the offensive baseball. He cried for a second but Nathan bounced Jamie up and down to distract the boy. He looked so cute in his bear inspired fleece jumpsuit. Nathan was only wearing a light sweater and he wondered if he should remove Jamie's jumpsuit but at the risk of getting his son sick, he kept it on but he did remove the hood so Jamie can move his head more freely. Nathan sat on top of a nearby picnic table and stood Jamie up on his knees. Jamie instantly smiled and put his hand in his mouth. Jamie was such a ball of energy and it was nice to take him out of the house. Nathan couldn't wait for the summer, where hopefully Jamie would be walking and he and Haley can take him around more.

Nathan was busy playing with Jamie that he didn't hear the footsteps nearby nor see the man approaching them.

Dan cleared his throat and Nathan instantly held Jamie closer to him and held on to him tight.

"Hi Nathan."

Nathan didn't miss a beat. "What do you want?"

The last time Nathan saw Dan was in the hospital and his last words to him were, _I'm done. _Nathan meant every word. Dan sent cards to the house but he has never directly tried to contact him or Haley. Even though Tree Hill was a small town, Nathan was able to avoid his father until now.

"I just.." Dan tried to speak but words were failing him at the moment. "Can a I hold him?" He asked and Nathan looked at him like he was crazy.

"No." Nathan made a move to get up. Damn the stroller, he could buy another one. Nathan was ready to leave now. But Nathan caught a glimpse of sadness on his father's face and it was then that he allowed himself to look at him, to take a real look at him. From what Nathan knew, Dan stepped down as mayor. The rehab and the pressures of the job was too much for Dan to handle, especially so soon after his heart attack. Dan looked like he lost some weight and aged a little bit too, it was also clear that it had been at least a few days since he shaved. Quite frankly, he looked like shit, the once might Dan Scott looked like a shell of his former self.

"Why?" Nathan suddenly found himself asking.

"Because he's the only one in my world that doesn't know what I've done." Dan replied honestly.

"What, that his grandfather sabotaged his father's career and his parents' relationship or that he nearly died because your secretary and her girlfriend had it in for us?" Nathan bit back.

Dan flinched at his words and he shrunk back a bit. Nathan took a deep breath to calm himself after his initial burst of anger. With Dan, it was easy to get mad but for the past 6 months, Nathan only concentrated on the good of his life and neither he, Haley or Lucas ever talked about him anymore.

"I deserve that." Dan said quietly and started to walk back slowly.

Nathan couldn't believe he was feeling guilty. "Fine." Nathan mumbled.

"Only for a second." Nathan added. Nathan realized that being angry did no one any favors. He had moved on from Dan and he wasn't going to let his father hold him back any longer. Besides, Haley was over her mom's house, maybe one of the last precious moments Haley would have with her mom. Nathan wondered how he would feel if Dan were truly out of his life for good.

Dan's face instantly lit up and he made his way over to them and Nathan hesitated for a second but he let his Dad hold his son for the very first time.

"I forgot how it's like." Dan said in awe as Jamie smiled at the stranger before him. "He's so beautiful." Dan rocked him back and forth. "James Lucas Scott." Dan said softly.

"Jamie." Nathan replied. "We call him Jamie, among other things." It was true, Jamie had more nicknames than fingers on his hand. He hoped that when Jamie got older, he wouldn't get confused.

"Jamie Scott." Dan smiled. "And now, said Max, let the wild rumpus start."

"Where the wild things are." Nathan added softly.

"You remember?" Dan asked.

Nathan nodded. "We have a copy for Jamie back home."

"I remember reading it to you when you were younger. That seems like another life ago."

"It was." Nathan quickly replied. Nathan snapped himself out of the past and took his son back from his dad.

Dan took a few steps back, savoring the last glimpses of the family he long ago lost.

"I know you're gonna have to tell him about me someday. I'm sorry for that." Dan replied honestly and started backing away again.

"Dad!" Nathan called out.

Dan stopped.

"I don't hate you. I just don't know how to be around you and not feel hurt." Nathan replied honestly.

"I know." Dan gave a small smile. "I'm proud of you Nathan. You're already a much better father than I ever was… I'll.. I'll see you around."

"Yeah, maybe." Nathan replied and started to rock Jamie back and forth but for Dan Scott, a chance to perhaps spend time with his family would be something he would cling to.

Stepping away from the River Court, Dan was making his way out but on the way he saw Lucas walking in, a basketball in his hand. They both slowed down and stopped in front of each other. Father and son looked each other in the eye. Dan gave a small smile and nodded. Lucas eyed him momentarily before doing the same thing and with that Dan, was gone.

Lucas walked up to his brother and nephew.

"Were my eyes deceiving me or was Dan actually holding Jamie a minute ago?"

"He was." Nathan replied, handing over his son to his Uncle. Once Jamie saw Lucas, he squirmed out of his father's hold to be with his favorite Uncle.

"Hey buddy." Lucas put the ball down and kissed the top of Jamie's head and then turned back to his brother. "Why would you do that?" Lucas asked.

"Because I'm finally free of him." Nathan shrugged.

Lucas nodded in silent confirmation. It was hard to believe this was the same Nathan who used to give him hell when they were younger. Lucas was proud that Nathan was finally able to let go of his demons.

"Now you're late." Nathan bent down to grab the ball and immediately started to dribble towards the net and then dunking the ball in.

Jamie instantly clapped his hands wildly together.

"You like it when Daddy dunks the ball?" Nathan cooed to Jamie and Jamie continued to laugh as did Lucas and Nathan.

From a distance, Dan saw his sons and grandson playing together, a mixture of happiness and sadness engulfing him. _At least they have each other_, he thought to himself as he made his way back to his own quiet and empty home.

. . . . .. .

"I was finally able to put him down." Nathan stepped inside his bedroom and found his wife already in bed. Nathan took off his shirt and kicked off his slippers and joined her a second later. Haley instantly saddled up next to him.

"Did he enjoy the River Court?" Haley asked.

"Oh he loved it there." Nathan replied. "We didn't stay too long because the sun started to set and it started getting cooler but I can't wait to take him back there in the spring."

"I'm glad you guys enjoyed."

"But Dan was there too."

"Dan?" Haley sat up.

"Yeah, he asked to hold Jamie. I let him."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I figure after everything that's happened, I just have too many good things in my life to be mad at Dan anymore. I told him that I don't hate it and I meant it but it still doesn't change anything. Maybe in time but.. but not now."

"Well good for you Nathan." Haley leaned over and kissed him on the cheeks. "Believe me, Dan isn't my favorite person in the world but he's still your father and Jamie's grandfather." Haley started to sniffle and Nathan held her chin up.

"Hey, you okay baby?"

"Okay as I can be I guess." Haley blinked her eyes. All this talk about parents and grandparents had her instantly thinking about her mom.

Sensing where Haley's thoughts drifted to, "How did it go with your mom?" Nathan asked while tucking away a stray hair.

"Not good." Haley shook her head. "She only has a couple of weeks, maybe a few months." Haley's voice choked.

"Oh baby." Nathan hugged her tight.

"I'm trying to put on a brave face for my mom .. but I don't know if I can. I don't know if I'm brave enough."

"You are." Nathan said softly. "I've seen you do the most amazing things, even when all seems lost."

"I'm scared Nathan. I'm so scared."

"I know you are but I'm here Hales, I'm not going anywhere."

Haley caressed his cheeks. "I want you to know something, Nathan. If anything ever happens to me, if you, if you ever lose me-

"Hales…"

Haley cut him off. "I want you to know how happy you made me. How wonderful my life was with you and how I'll always be with you."

"Nothing's going to happen to you." Nathan replied.

"I know. I know, you're right. But if it does, I just, I want you to be okay, Nathan. And know that you and Jamie have made me so happy."

Nathan nodded and was about to speak but just on cue, Jamie's cries could be heard through the baby monitor.

Nathan made a move to get up but Haley stopped him.

"I'll get him." She said getting up.

A minute later, a now fully awake Jamie was bouncing in his mother's arms.

She sat on the bed and put Jamie down. Instantly, their little boy started to crawl and pounced on his father. Nathan placated him as he allowed Jamie to climb over him. Father and son laughed and Haley smiled along with them. Jamie climbed Nathan's chest and rested his little head against Nathan's shoulder. It seemed that Jamie just wanted to sleep with his dad. Nathan held him tight and Haley reached over to caress Jamie's blond locks.

Even though the news of her mother's cancer weighed heavily on her, Haley looked on at the two most important men in her life with a warm smile. Being with them filled her heart with more happiness than she could have ever imagined. She would cling to that, even now when darkness threatened to consume her. Leaning over to give Nathan a quick kiss and then giving one to Jamie, Haley looked into Nathan's piercing cobalt blue eyes, "It's not possible to be this in love."

To Be Continued . . . .


	34. I and Love and You

The Search for Something More

Chapter 34 – I and Love and You

Thank you for everyone's support on this story and I hate to say it that this is the end. I'm sorry it took this long to update but with the holidays and I got side tracked with a new show, a cartoon if you can believe it (Avatar: The Last Airbender, lol). The past week, that just took up my whole time as I watched hours and hours of that show lol. Anyways, I am really happy with how this story turned out and everything I wanted to put into this story I did and then some. I had such a blast writing this story, especially the chapter when Jamie "died" and him coming back to life. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you for reading. Now, I will focus all my attention to "Keep Bleeding." So enjoy this last chapter and leave me some love.

* * *

Haley placed the single candle on the cake and let herself admire the creation she made. The cake was big, like really big and she was going to need Nathan to help bring it to the living room when the time comes. She could barely get the thing out from the oven herself. The cake was chocolate of course, mother and son's favorite, with white frosting and an assortment of items decorated on the cake. She could hardly believe her little boy was one year old. The day Jamie was born was forever etched in her memory, every heart breaking moment and the joy when they found out he was alive. Jamie was her's and Nathan's miracle and Haley wanted to make sure everything was perfect for today.

She looked back onto the party and noticed everyone having a good time. She hired some entertainment for the kids. There was a moon bounce that both kids and adults enjoyed. Nathan really enjoyed that one, especially when she joined him and his eyes never left her chest while she jumped up and down. Unfortunately for Nathan, other's noticed too and he quickly escorted her way. Haley could only laugh at Nathan's over protectiveness and jealousy. There was also a cartoonist doing characteratures for everyone. The one of Jamie was so cute, with his oversized cheeks and his big round eyes. Last but not least and the most popular was the balloonist they hired. Nathan was hesitant at first when she brought the idea up but he turned out to be the life of the party. The things that guy could create were amazing. He made various types of hats, crowns, flowers for the girls, as well as all sorts of different animals like giraffes and monkeys. He also made toy balloon guns and swords, which were very popular with the boys, her husband and best friend included. She nearly busted out laughing when Lucas got mad at Nathan because he kept whacking his toy sword against his head and then smacking it against Lucas' butt.

Haley smiled to herself, she was most definitely pleased with the day's festivities. Haley spoke to soon as she heard the doorbell and ring and opening the door, she found an unexpected guest. To her horror, in front of her, was a clown with white make up, oversized shoes and bright red lipstick. Hands down, he was the scariest thing she'd ever seen.

"Hi I'm bozo…" Haley slammed the door at his face and shrieked.

"Nathan!"

"Babe, what's up?" Nathan rushed to see what the excitement was about.

"Get him out of here."

"Who?"

"Him." Haley pointed to the door and Nathan looked through the peep hole.

"Hales, it's just a clown."

"Just a clown." She retorted. "Get him away, you know how I hate clowns."

"What's all the commotion?" Deb came up to them.

"Haley's afraid of the clown." Nathan replied.

"Oh we have a clown." Deb said excitedly as she opened the door.

"Deb don't!" Haley exclaimed but it was too late.

"Hi I'm Bozo the clown."

"Well, hello Bozo." Deb licked her lips as she looked the clown over. "Those are some pretty big shoes."

"Gross mom, can you get Jamie from Brooke. He needs to be changed." Nathan shook his head. Nathan loved having his mom around, especially with Jamie, she visited Tree Hill quite often but sometimes he questioned if his mom was really sober.

Deb playfully rolled her eyes. "Fine," then turning back to the clown, "I'll see you later." She winked.

"Look Bozo," Haley started to speak. "You must have the wrong house."

"This is Jamie Scott's first birthday party?" Bozo asked.

"Yes it is." Nathan replied, an amused smile on his face.

"Then I'm at the right house."

"I'm sorry but I didn't order a clown. There must be some mistake." Haley spoke up.

"No mistake, I was hired for this party."

"We didn't order a clown." Haley turned to Nathan. "You better have not ordered him!" She glared.

"I didn't do anything." Nathan put his hands up in mock surrender.

"This was ordered by a Lydia James." The clown looked at the work order. "It was pre-paid months ago."

"Mother." Haley mumbled to herself and Nathan couldn't help but laugh.

"This is so not funny!" She warned at him. "Oh if my mother wasn't already dead." She gritted up and looked up towards the sky, knowing her mom was having a laugh right now. Lydia loved clowns, as did most of her family but one particularly incident when Haley was six left her emotionally scarred for life.

"Hales, he is already paid for and this is a gift from your mom to Jamie." Nathan tried to reason.

"No, the fluffy rabbit she got him was a gift from my mom, this is a sick joke from beyond the grave." She replied back. "I don't care what you do, get rid of him. There is no way in hell I am going to let some clown in my house and in front of my son." She then put on a forced smile. "No offense." And with that she took off.

"Sorry, my wife hates clowns." Nathan shrugged.

"You'd be surprised by how many do."

"Look, sorry for you trouble but I don't think we'll be needing you." Nathan started walking with the clown towards his car, his very small car. Nathan looked on amused, that must've been the smallest car he'd ever seen and this guy was at least 5'10, 5'11. Nathan pulled out a few singles. "Sorry for the trouble." Nathan handed it to him and made sure he left. Haley would kill him if he didn't make sure that the clown was completely gone.

He was a little surprised. He didn't think Lydia would actually do it. She died about two months ago in early April and while her death was expected, it didn't make it any easier on anyone who knew and loved her, including Haley. After last Christmas, Lydia broke the news to everyone and then spent sometime traveling again to visit various family and friends for about a month before coming back home to Tree Hill. Haley was with her almost every day but by the end of winter, Lydia's condition worsened and she stayed in the hospital for about three weeks before she finally passed. Lydia was surrounded by friends and family and in the end she had no regrets. She was in good spirits during the whole time, thankful that she was able to make it this long. She did talk about missing Jamie's birthday and wished she could be around for it. She even joked about getting a clown but Nathan didn't think she would be serious. Lydia, as well as Jimmy, always had a weird sense of humor.

Still, he was glad with how Haley handled everything. She put on a brave face after Lydia's death but he knew it still hung heavily on her. He didn't push or pry but just be there for her when she needed him. After her death, he would find Haley randomly in tears. Something or someone would trigger a memory of her mother and the water works started. The last few weeks have been better, especially with Haley busy planning Jamie's birthday. Nathan was happy for the distraction it gave Haley, even though she tended to get a little OCD over certain things.

Haley was supposed to go back to school to finish her degree but Jamie's birth kept both of them busy. Haley was going to take a few classes this past semester but with her mother's cancer, it was once again postponed. The past year the two of them just focused on Jamie and on themselves and their friends and family but now that Lydia's has passed and Jamie was getting older, they both needed to decide what to do as their next step.

Turning back, he was going to head back towards the party.

"Hey Nate!"

Nathan turned back around.

"Hey Julian."

"Was that a clown I just saw?"

"Yeah."

"Doesn't Haley hate clowns?"

"Yes she does." Nathan replied. "It was a mix up and Haley practically threatened to kill me if I didn't' get rid of him."

Julian snorted. "That sounds like Haley alright."

"Anyways, did you head out?"

"Yeah, I realized I forgot something so I went back to get it." Julian reached into his messenger bag and pulled out an old beaten up baseball glove.

"I already put Jamie's gift inside but I wanted him to have this." Julian offered it to Nathan.

"Some beat up glove?" Nathan eyed the thing curiously. At this point, Nathan considered Julian a friend, not a close friend like Lucas or Clay, shoot even Peyton or Brooke but he sometimes questioned what goes on in his head.

"Well Haley told me how much Jamie loved the baseball I gave him."

"He likes basketball." Nathan retorted.

Julian rolled his eyes. "I know that but he can play other sports too.. besides didn't you play little league?"

Now it was Nathan's turn to roll his eyes.

"Anyways, my dad was a lifelong pirates fan and when I was a kid he gave me this glove and said it once belong to Roberto Clemente." Julian chuckled. "It must've killed him to know I was a horrible player. I thought maybe would like it one day." Julian handed it over to Nathan.

"You sure? This thing is probably worth a lot of money?"

"Yeah it'll be worth a lot more if Jamie goes pro."

"His hands need to fit inside it first."

Julian chuckled. "When I was in little league, I would be in right field chasing butterflies. Just take the glove. Trust me, the glove respects what I'm doing."

"I'm sure it does, but it probably didn't respect that you brought it here in a purse though."

"That's a manbag." Julian eyed Nathan.

"If that's your story."

"Just take the glove."

"I'm sure Jamie's going to love it." Nathan laughed. "Oh hey, I never got a chance to thank you about the documentary. Haley and I received so many letters from people, they all had such nice things to say, Haley really appreciated it, especially after mom died."

"No problem." Julian smiled and the two headed back inside. "It is a manbag by the way."

Nathan rolled his eyes and called Lucas and Clay who were nearby. "What would you call that?" Nathan pointed to Julian's bag.

"Messenger bag." Clay replied and Lucas nodded his head in agreement.

"I call it a man bag." Julian added.

"Yeah, you can call it that too." Lucas nodded as did Clay.

Nathan eyed them like he was crazy. "Of course, someone as gay as you two would call it that." Nathan then motioned Skills and Q to come over.

Clay and Lucas both rolled their eyes at Nathan.

"What's up Nate?" Q asked.

"What do you call that?" Nathan pointed to the bag.

Q laughed, "You mean that purse."

"See." Nathan smirked.

"Man bag!" Julian replied with emphasis.

Nathan, Q and Skills all looked at each other, "You mean man-purse." Skills added and all three started busted up laughing.

. . . . .

Nathan was on his way to the back when Clay stopped him.

"I thought I told you to feed the cake to Jamie." Nathan huffed out.

"You know how Jamie can get." Clay defended himself, handing the young boy over to his father. Jamie's mouth was covered in cake and frosting. "Anyways, did you get a chance to look over what Skills sent over?"

"I've been busy."

"Nate." Clay was about to speak but his cell phone started ringing. "We'll talk later." Clay walked away before Nathan could protest.

"Hey Luke." Nathan called over his brother. "Can you clean Jamie off?" Nathan handed Jamie over to Lucas. The boy's mouth was covered with cake.

"My mom called the stupid clown back and now Haley's freaking out." Nathan shook his head.

Lucas laughed and carried his young nephew over to the kitchen and placed him on the counter. Jamie just looked at him with a wide smile. Lucas took a wet towel and started cleaning Jamie's face off. Lucas couldn't believe Jamie was already one year old. He remembered delivering the heart breaking news of his death and then the joy of finding out he was alive. He remembered holding Jamie for the first time and noticing how small he was. From the moment he looked at his young nephew, he fell in love with him and vowed to always be there for him.

Looking back when he first found out Haley was pregnant, he wondered if he was too easy on Nathan. Nathan put Haley through the ringer and Nathan cut him out of his life but for some reason Lucas stood by him. Maybe it was the fact that they were brothers, or the determination Nathan had to make things right, but he was there for Nathan. He'll be the first to admit that Nathan isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. He's stubborn and thick headed and Lucas found himself setting Nathan straight on a number of occasions when things went awry. In the end, it worked out though. He knew Nathan and Haley would find their way again but Lucas hoped his "meddling" accelerated things and now look at them. They were the three happiest people he knew.

"I think you enjoyed that cake a little too much." Lucas commented as he finished cleaning Jamie's face off.

"I think you did too." Brooke came up from behind him and poked his stomach. "I saw you take two slices."

"Are you calling me fat?" Lucas joked.

"Well you have been looking a little plump."

"Hey!"

Brooke laughed as she started to play with Jamie while Lucas held him in his arms.

"You're so good with him." Brooke replied. "He adores you."

Lucas felt a small blush but he tried to shrug it. "I don't know if adoration is the right word."

"Stop it, that little boy loves you."

"Right back at you, god mother." Lucas waved Jamie's hand around and pointed to Brooke.

"I wonder if I'll have my own little Jamie one day." Brooke lamented.

"Yeah, same here."

"I'm so jealous of Nathan and Haley." Brooke replied.

"Even after everything that happened this past year, the two of them are.." Lucas trailed off.

"Nauseating with their PDA." Brooke added.

Lucas laughed. "Yeah exactly."

"You think if they have another kid, they'll let me buy Jamie?"

Lucas laughed. "I don't know if he's up for sale."

"Bummer."

"But you know, give me a shot and I can help you out in that department. I mean, where do you think Jamie gets his good looks from." Lucas held Jamie up so their faces were right next to each other.

"Nathan." Brooke deadpanned and Lucas squinted at her.

"Nah, I'm serious."

"Luke." Brooke said in a more serious tone.

"What?" Lucas replied. "Everytime I bring the idea of us up, you're quick to shoot it down."

"It's just not the right time."

"Well, when is?"

"Look, I'm still trying to get the business up, I keep traveling.."

"You mean between Tree Hill and New York?" Lucas interrupted. "Last time I checked, I live in Tree Hill and wait my publisher is up in New York."

Brooke looked away.

"Brooke, look at me." Lucas said softly. "We can have it all too. You just need to give me the chance to show you." Lucas lifted Jamie to him. The two really looked so much alike.

"No fair using the kid against me."

"Is it working?" Lucas smirked.

Brooke took a deep breath. She'd been dancing around this topic for a year now.

"Okay."

"Okay?" Lucas repeated.

"Yes Luke but let's.. let's take it slow."

Lucas smiled. "Yeah, anything you want."

Brooke looked into his blue eyes. He really looked so sexy with his fitted flannel shirt and holding Jamie. Haley was right, Brooke thought, a man that is good with kids is such a turn on. "Oh screw it." She leaned up and kissed Lucas.

"Eww, ewww!" Haley came waltzing in and taking Jamie from Lucas. "Not in front of the kid … and finally!" She called out.

. . . . .

Peyton was sitting down talking to with a group of people when she saw Haley with Jamie coming their way. Nathan followed suit.

"Okay, I was able to get the clown to leave." Nathan spoke up. "Although, I think I saw my mom go with him." He grimaced.

"That's just wrong." Peyton added.

"Yeah well I saw something almost as scary." Haley spoke up. "Brooke and Lucas sucking face in front of Jamie."

"Eww." Nathan replied, taking Jamie from Haley and hoping his little boy wasn't scarred for life.

"Well it's about time." Peyton smiled and stuck out her hand. "Pay up."

Nathan, Haley each handed Peyton a twenty dollar bill, as did Jake who sat down next to Peyton and put his arms around.

"But sucking face is probably no worse than what you two do." Peyton eyed Nathan and Haley curiously.

"When Jamie started walking I heard he walked in on his parents doing the horizontal mambo." Jake chuckled.

Peyton busted up laughing.

"Nathan!" Haley whacked his arm while she blushed, embarrassed.

"Hey do you think we got Jamie in the first place." Nathan shot back.

Haley whacked Nathan on the arm and just shook her head, her face turning bright red.

* * *

"Nathan, where are you?" Haley descended the stairs. She was dressed in her night gown and wore her off white silk robe. The party was over a few hours ago and it went off with out a hitch, except with the whole clown thing that Haley was blocking out of her mind. Now, it was night time and even though Haley was tired, she just wanted to spend the evening hanging out with her husband.

"In the living room." Nathan called out.

"What're you…" Haley's voice trailed off as she entered the living room which was filled long pillar white candles.

"Nathan." Haley said softly as she clutched her chest. "What's all this?"

Nathan set Jamie down on the couch. His little boy was worn out from the days event. He smiled as he set him down on the couch, he was in his pj's but still wore the Jersey his grandpa Dan had given him. It was Nathan's first Jersey and even though it was still a little too big on Jamie, Jamie still clung to it. It was one of his favorite presents he got all day. Dan wasn't invited to the party but still sent a gift. Dan's road to recovery was long but he was doing better and there was talk that he would be taking his spot back as Mayor in a couple of weeks. He'd seen Dan here and there over the past couple of months but Dan kept his distance, which Nathan was thankful for. He wasn't ready to let Dan back in his life but the times he did see him, he would let Dan see Jamie, sometimes if Nathan was in a good mood, he would let his dad hold him for a moment. It was all about baby steps with Dan.

"Happy Anniversary." Nathan smiled. He too was in his PJ bottoms and wore a plain white tee shirt.

"But it's not our anniversary."

"I know." Nathan added. "But we were so busy that we didn't get to celebrate."

At the time, Jamie was just recovering from the flu and so Nathan and Haley didn't do much for their anniversary and they were just happy that Jamie got better in time for his birthday.

"Besides, look what I found in the garage." Nathan pulled up a guitar from the floor. "I was hoping you'd play for me."

"I'd probably suck, I haven't played in a while."

"I don't care."

"I don't know."

"Come on, last time I saw you play, we conceived Jamie." Nathan smirked.

Haley playfully rolled her eyes.

"Consider it my anniversary present." Nathan pleaded.

"Okay." Haley smiled and took a seat across from Nathan. Taking the guitar, she began to strum a few chords and then started to sing. She played about three songs before setting the guitar down.

"And you called yourself rusty." Nathan leaned over and kissed her. "That was great.. and an even better anniversary gift. Thank you."

Haley blushed.

"If this whole English teacher thing doesn't work out, you should try being a music teacher .. or just be a musician."

"Yes, I can see me now, touring with artists like Sheryl Crow and Chris Keller."

"Chris Keller? Seriously?"

Haley laughed. "Well, I first need to finish this teacher thing."

"About that."

"I know what you're going to say. I've been talking about going back and finishing my degree but nothings happened."

"Well, its understandable given everything."

"I think everything that happened with us and then with Jamie and then with my mom.. is it wrong for me to just not want to do anything right now?"

"No, it's not." Nathan took her hand and pulled her onto the couch with him. Jamie was still on the other side asleep.

"I just want to make sure that you're okay." Nathan wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm more than okay, I have amazing friends and family, and I have you and Jamie. I couldn't ask for anything more."

"I know the feeling." Nathan leaned down and the two shared a kiss.

"Actually, now that we're on the subject, did you talk to Clay?"

"Not really."

"I figured as much." Haley got up and went into the kitchen and pulled out a manila envelope from one of the drawers and then went back to the couch and joined Nathan.

"What's this?" He asked as he opened it.

"A friend of mine is a realtor in Charlotte, I asked her to send me some listings. I figured a condo 2-3 bedroom condo would work for us."

"You want to invest in property?" Nathan asked confused.

Haley laughed. "No, this is so we can have a place to stay in Charlotte."

"Why would we be in Charlotte?"

"We would have to be if you started playing with the Bobcats."

Nathan was silent.

"Clay told me about Seattle wanting you back but today he found out that Charlotte is really interested and they put in an offer."

"I.. I don't know what to say."

"Look, I admit that I've been dodging going back to school too but you also have been dodging basketball." Haley pointed out.

"It's like you said, I'm just happy where I am right now."

"Nathan." Haley sighed. "You're not fooling me. I know you miss the game, don't tell me you don't."

"Of course I miss it but I'd miss you and Jamie more if I do go back."

"Which is why Jamie and I can go to Charlotte with you." Haley sign-songed. "And Tree Hill isn't very far, we can go back home anytime we wanted."

"Hales.."

"Nathan." Haley countered back. "I still see the guilt in your eyes, the way you need to be the perfect husband and father to make up for your past mistakes."

"…."

"But I want you to know something, you are already an amazing husband and an even better father. I know I said that you choose basketball over me but I was wrong. I know where your heart lies and I know you'll always put me and Jamie first but that doesn't mean you can't play ball as well. I know you love the game and I love watching you play the game, much like you love it when I was just playing music for you."

"Haley.. I don't know."

"Say you'll at least think about it."

Nathan held wrapped her arms around her and held her tight, then their gaze turned to their sleeping son.

"Do you remember when you told me you were pregnant?"

Haley nodded and turned her head to look at her husband.

"I remember staying with Q for his son's birthday. I remember seeing how happy Q and his family were. I thought to myself, that this is a man who has it all. I didn't think it could happen to me. I was coming back from my injury but I still felt empty and I still felt guilty for leaving you so quickly after you and I got together. I thought basketball was it for me but then you told me you were pregnant and suddenly, everything changed."

Haley gently caressed Nathan's cheek.

"Today, looking out and seeing all our family and friends and seeing how happy Jamie is, I feel like I have it all. Whether or not I play again, my life is already complete. Some people always _search for something more_, I don't have to. I have everything I need right here with me." Nathan looked at her and at their son.

"At the end of the day, that's all that matters right?" Nathan added.

Haley nodded in agreement, not trusting her mouth to form words at the moment. Tears formed in Haley's eyes and even though she didn't have both her parents anymore, she knew they would always be a part of her and the values they taught her would be passed down to her own son and future children. There would surely be challenges for them in the future but Nathan was right, they already had everything they needed in each other.

Taking a moment to gather herself, Haley pulled Jamie into her lap and then looked up at Nathan.

"Let's promise to never be too scared to follow our dreams." Haley said softly.

"I promise." Nathan replied.

"I love you Nathan Scott and I love our little family."

"And I." Nathan replied and kissing Jamie on the forehead.

"Love," then kissing his wife.

"You."

The End.


End file.
